"Teeth are broken, it's good to have them pulled out, old teeth and old teeth, old teeth, old teeth will always fall out." This is the perception of many people. In fact, this concept is wrong, because the health of the teeth is related to the health of the whole body, and "aging" will bring many risks.
September 20, 2021 is the 33rd National Tooth Love Day, this year's publicity theme is "Oral Health, Whole Body Health", and the sub-theme is "Develop the habit of brushing teeth from an early age and enjoy a healthy life for a lifetime". On the occasion of the festival, we invited Wang Xudong, president of Henan Provincial Staff Hospital, adjunct professor of Zhengzhou University, and a well-known stomatologist, to explain in detail the dental health and oral health problems.
World standards and the current situation of our country
Regarding dental health, the World Health Organization once proposed an "80/20" standard. What is 80/20? Even after we reach the age of 80, we can still have 20 healthy teeth.
What is the health of Chinese's teeth? According to Wang Xudong, in 2016, the number of teeth left in the 65-74-year-old elderly in China was only 22.5. At present, less than 1% of people in China meet the standards of dental health, and the adult incidence of oral diseases accounts for 60% to 80% of the total population.
In January 2019, the National Health Commission issued the "Healthy Oral Action Plan (2019-2025)", which clearly put forward the expected target: the number of retained teeth in China's 65-74-year-old elderly will reach 24 in 2025.
From this point of view, the oral health literacy level and health behavior formation rate of Chinese residents still need to be improved.
Oral health and whole body health
Wang Xudong said that without oral health, there is no whole body health; without total health, where will there be national health?
In June 2021, the European Journal of Clinical Research published an article on prospective chronic disease research in China. The study, which included 500,000 Chinese, showed that in China, people with tooth loss and poor oral hygiene had a 12 percent increased risk of cardiovascular events, an 8 percent increased risk of stroke, an 18 percent increased risk of cerebral hemorrhage, and a 22 percent increased risk of cor pulmonale.
Therefore, dental health, oral health and general health seriously affect the health of the whole body.
What diseases do periodontal diseases often cause?
People often say that "illness comes from the mouth", which is true. According to Wang Xudong, periodontal disease not only causes bad breath, bleeding and swelling of the gums, loose and fallout teeth, but also often leads to the following diseases:
Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's disease) In 2019, the results of a study published in the prestigious journal Science Advances showed that one of the main pathogens of periodontal disease, Porphyrinos gingivalis, also causes Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Diabetes The sixth major complication of diabetes is periodontitis, and chronic infections in the mouth make it difficult for diabetics to have their blood sugar well controlled.
Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease The incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke in patients with periodontal disease is 1.4 to 2.1 times higher than that of normal people, because there are abundant blood vessels in the mouth, and the flow of blood will bring the bacteria of periodontal disease to the major blood vessels.
Gastrointestinal diseases Helicobacter pylori (HP) in the stomach is an important causative factor of digestive tract diseases such as chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers, and is also closely related to the occurrence of gastric cancer.
Cancer The Medical Research Center of Nagoya University in Japan found that people with high rates of tooth loss increased the incidence of esophageal cancer by 136%, head and neck cancer by 68%, and lung cancer by 54%.
Wang Xudong reminded that according to the standards of the World Health Organization, the vast majority of our "old teeth" can be avoided, and maintaining good oral hygiene habits can better maintain the health of the whole body.
Source: Henan Provincial Health Publicity and Education Center
Author: Wu Yuxi Huang Jingwen