I will admit to taking very poor care of my teeth.
Not that long ago I got inspired to actually do what I was supposed with regards to flossing and brushing.
Also in here, my heartburn and fluttery esophagus stopped needing acid reducers.
I slipped into old, neglectful, habits and my heartburn is back with a vengeance.
It's making me think my heartburn is the nasty stuff from my mouth attacking my throat and not acid from my stomach. This is somewhat reinforced by the heartburn not being relieved by changing diet.
I'm going to get back in the habit of brushing and see what happens.
I think there is some merit to that line of thinking because from what I've heard there are bacteria from the mouth which can cause irritation in the esophagus which can worsen heartburn and even lead to formation of ulcers because they attack the mucus and lining of the throat, esophagus and even stomach. Acid from the stomach may be involved but the amount necessary to cause problems may be reduced if the defenses of the upper GI tract are compromised by that bacteria.
ReplyDeleteTooth and gum infections can settle into the joints. It's why they give you antibiotics before knee surgery.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, your mouth is connected to everything else. Brush at least once a day.
And rinse your sinuses out. You'll be surprised how not having a low-grade sinus infection can mess your mouth up. Even just rinsing out with tap water or salt water will do.
There's pretty good evidence linking mouth bacteria to heart attacks, too, by helping the plaque form.
ReplyDeleteThat's a minority view, but one of those, "wouldn't it be funny if that was the problem all along" things.