Your Dentist Is More Important to Your General Health Than You May Realize

Most people view their twice-yearly visits to the dentist as little more than a cleaning and a check-up. But in reality, those visits are much more important than you probably realize. That's because your dentist is looking inside your mouth for a lot more than cavities. Plenty of medical conditions -- including some alarming ones! -- manifest in the mouth, which is the part of your body your dentist knows the most about. In fact, it's possible that your dentist is able to alert you of a potentially serious condition long before you even think about going to a primary care doctor. Here's a list of some of the medical conditions that your dentist may detect. Acromegaly When a pituitary adenoma (cancer) occurs, it causes the gland to secrete excess growth hormone. While this hormone is essential for early development, allowing it to go unchecked results in multiple systemic complications, which can eventually lead to death. What your dentist may notice are sudden and increased spacing between your teeth, and the formation of an anterior open bite. Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) The most common inherited bone disease, OI results in a deficiency to produce collagen, resulting in brittle bones prone to fracture. Atticus Shaffer (Brick from ABC's The Middle) has the condition. People are usually diagnosed with OI if they break bones in situations where a person normally would not. However, there are key signs in your mouth a dentist can look for that may provide an early diagn...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news