Best Self Magazine

Is Your Mouth Making You Sick? The Metabolic Impact of Oral Health

Is your mouth making you sick? Oral Health, by Dr. Scott Saunders. Photograph of toothbrush by Alex
Photograph by Alex

How oral health plays a pivotal role in our overall health — the much overlooked aspect of holistic wellbeing

Think about the last time you visited a doctor — ANY doctor. Did s/he ever once ask you if you had any dental problems?  Any dental work done recently? Or look inside your mouth for anything other than the standard “say aahhh” 2-second throat inspection? I didn’t think so.

And this is a problem.

What if the most accessible route to shifting your life towards measurably better whole-body health was lurking where you — or your doctor — never thought to look?  That could be — literally — right under your nose.

As a Best Self Magazine reader, you’re looking for information and solutions that are reliable, science-based and needle-moving, maybe a little ‘outside the box’. You also may be tired of the ‘same-old-same-old’ health advice. And, just maybe… you know too much NOT to question the standard health-care ‘script’, because it’s not congruent with what you’ve been learning.

Typical dental information you find online provides the same basic, tired (and often corporate-sponsored) message. And, no disrespect to my practicing colleagues, but your dentist might be giving you those same tired — and often ineffectual — messages: “brush, floss, see me for twice-yearly cleanings and checkups… and of course, be sure to use a fluoride toothpaste and drink fluoridated tap water… and if (or when) you have cavities, I’ll fill them.”

Sadly, that’s usually the extent of the discussion at your check-up.  Your overall body health likely gets addressed only with a cursory medical

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