The healthy functioning of our body largely depends on how we treat it. If we have unhealthy eating habits, a life without exercise or sports, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, we are more prone to systemic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
Our world is moving at an increasingly fast pace and there is more emphasis on standing out in the ultra-competitive field. This has led to high stress levels, irregular sleep, irregular eating habits and irregular exercise routines. However, remember that your mouth is the first entry point for everything unhealthy you take into your body.
Unhealthy food has to pass through the mouth, smoking is done through the mouth. Therefore, it is natural that the first thing that is affected by an unhealthy lifestyle is the oral cavity.
Let’s take a closer look at how an unhealthy lifestyle can affect your oral health.
Eating Too Much Junk Food
Unhealthy foods consist of foods that contain abnormally high levels of carbohydrates and fats. These include fast foods such as pizza, burgers, sodas and fizzy drinks, fried foods, candy, chocolate, ice cream, cakes and pastries, etc.
The high amount of sugar in these foods has a negative effect on your teeth and can lead to tooth decay. In addition to poor oral health, junk food can of course lead to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.
Smoking or Chewing Tobacco
Smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, holding it under your tongue or near your cheeks, smoking cigars, or any other form of tobacco consumption is life-threatening. Tobacco remains the number one cause of oral cancers, such as tongue cancer or lip cancer. Additionally, it can cause other oral problems, such as staining of teeth, bad breath, and gum disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer are among the diseases that tobacco and tobacco products can cause.
Stress
Stress is as much a part of an unhealthy lifestyle as the above habits. Over the last few years, the amount of stress in people has increased due to an excessive focus on one’s career at the expense of one’s own mental and physical well-being. Stress can cause a person to engage in harmful lifestyle behaviors such as smoking and drinking, which can lead to poor oral health. It can also cause people to neglect their oral health, skip brushing their teeth, or skip dental appointments.
Bad Brushing Habits
Brushing twice a day removes food particles and decay-causing bacteria from your teeth. If you don’t brush, the chances of tooth decay and gum disease increase greatly. Therefore, poor brushing habits also have a negative impact on your oral health.
Solution
Oral health is one of the most overlooked aspects of the body. Many people know the effects of unhealthy habits such as obesity and heart disease on the body, but they do not have enough awareness when it comes to oral health. Therefore, it is very important to be aware of the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle on oral health.