What is your mouth telling you?

Our mouths are the gateway in our health, and you may be surprised as to what your teeth and gums are telling you. You may think: “I don’t have cavities, I must have a healthy mouth.” Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Dry mouth or bad breath tell just as much about our health, and this oral horoscope can be a gateway into the best solutions to fix these issues as well.

Bad breath
So you tend to clear the room with your less-than-pleasant breath? You may not be brushing, flossing and rinsing well enough, but it can also mean that you have stomach or digestive problems. Think about it: If you are having digestive problems (or are burping a lot) your breath isn’t going to be minty fresh. Bad breath can also be indication of bacterial growth in your stomach, or an issue of the liver or kidney. Often, people with diabetes can experience breath that smells musty, which means their problem may not be under control.

Dry mouth
Do you always feel like you’re reaching for a sip of water to get rid of dry mouth? This can actually mean a lot of things, and if you are taking medications it can be a side effect. Dry mouth can be associated with over-the-counter or prescription drugs, so you may want to ask your doctor if that is the case. It can also be associated with illnesses like Sjogren’s syndrome, diabetes or hypothyroidism. If you have high blood pressure or are experiencing depression or stress, that can also be the reason why your mouth is feeling dried out.

Gum disease
If you have gum disease, this may be rooted in a larger problem. Although it may come from not taking proper care of your mouth, it can also be traced to heart issues. The bacteria that is present in the mouth because of gum disease can travel through the bloodstream. If you notice that your gums easily bleed or there are pockets between your teeth and gums, this can be gum disease. In these cases, you may also notice that your breath isn’t fresh or you have a bad taste in your mouth.

“I think it’s a combination that it is wearing down your immune system and that type of bacteria in the plumbing of the blood vessel can cause coronary problems,” Jeanette Kern, DDS, told Mother Nature Network. “So you may think you are cleaning up your mouth, but you’re possibly saving your life when you take care of your periodontal disease.”

Cavities
If you are prone to cavities, you’re likely not cleaning your mouth and tongue well enough. People tend to overlook cleaning their tongue, but the back of your mouth is home to a lot of bacteria! If you don’t wash this bacteria away properly, it can eat away at your pearly whites - which can also lead to bad breath.

Using oral health probiotics can help keep a healthy mouth and body, and relieve some of these symptoms that may be causing difficulty in your everyday life. Probiotics help fight bad breath germs that form in your mouth and throat, so they don’t just get rid of the smell, but they actively fight it at the source. There are a diverse array of probiotic products, including lozenges and gum that you can take on the go, that will be an effective defense against odor-causing bacteria.