by Kat Derrig

Created on: January 29, 2009

Your lifestyle habits affect your oral health, and your oral health has a major impact on other systems in the body. For several years, I smoked cigarettes and drank several cups of coffee a day, and my teeth looked discolored. Smoking is particularly bad for your oral health: it not only turns your pearly whites a disgusting shade of yellow, but leaves you prone to gum infections such as gingivitis. Gingivitis causes your gums to become red, sensitive, and even bleed, and bacteria from the infection can enter your bloodstream and cause infections in other areas of the body. The same is true if you have any other kind of infection in the mouth. A friend of mine had a broken root canal that he left untreated, and this caused swelling in his jaw, as well as a stomach infection, due to the travelling of the bacteria. Although the broken root canal was not directly caused by a "bad habit", this story illustrates how important it is to have the good habit of maintaining oral health, getting regular checkups, and visiting a dentist if you think you may have an infection.

Another bad habit, which is actually considered a mental illness, is bulimia, or purposely vomiting after a meal in order to lose weight. The bile and acids from your stomach will wear away the enamel of your teeth, and can even cause them to fall out. With this disease, oral problems are only one of the side effects, and bulimia is something to be taken very seriously and treated by a qualified doctor.

Drugs can play a big role in tooth decay and gum disease as well. I once was acquainted with a young woman who had had a cocaine addiction for many years, and this drug use had taken a tole on her teeth. Many of them had rotted away, and she was plagued with tooth and gum infections, and a great deal of pain. Even years after she had quit using cocaine, her oral health continued to cause problems in other parts of her body. She felt run down and tired most of the time, and was susceptible to colds and the flu. These issues spilled over into all aspects of her life: she was unable to maintain a job because of her health problems, and was often unable to find new employment because of the appearance of her mouth. Luckily, this story has a happy ending: she was finally able to get health insurance which approved her to be treated with antibiotics, and have all the bad teeth pulled and replaced with false ones. Now she has her strength and energy back, and can smile with confidence. Even though this story

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