It’s a fact that regular dental hygiene visits are the key to a bright, healthy smile. However, there are also various factors keeping your whole body well that you may not be aware. Keeping these factors in balance may be the key to warding off diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer and keep you living a longer healthier life.

Did you know your mouth is home to a system of viruses, fungi, protozoa and bacteria? In fact, scientists have identified more than 700 specials of oral bacteria that live in our mouth every day. This complex ecosystem is known as the oral microbiome. Amazingly, within the oral microbiome, a single tooth can host more than 500 million oral bacteria at a time.

While some oral bacteria can cause gingivitis and bad breath, not all bacteria are bad. Some of the bacteria in our mouths help us digest food and protect against any harmful microbes in the food we eat. Scientist have found that some helpful microbes even help the good bacteria grow and thrive.

That said, much of the bacteria in our mouths can harm our health. Some bacteria feast on the sugar left on teeth, leaving tooth-dissolving acid on the tooth enamel, leading to tooth decay, while others can lodge between the teeth and gumlines, causing bad breath. Like the good bacteria, bad bacteria also work together to grow and spread throughout our mouths.

Without good hygiene, the bad bacteria can also travel throughout our bodies, causing severe health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, it’s imperative to keep your oral microbiome in balance

Overall, keeping up with oral hygiene means keeping the bad bacteria in check and helping the good bacteria defend our teeth and gums, keep our breath fresh, and protect our gut health.