7 Things Your Teeth Say About Your Health

Some messages coming out of your mouth bypass the vocal chords. Turns out that your teeth, gums, and surrounding tissues also have plenty to say -- about your overall health.

"Your mouth is connected to the rest of your body," says Anthony Iacopino, dean of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry and a spokesperson for the American Dental Association. "What we see in the mouth can have a significant effect on other organ systems and processes in the body. And the reverse is also true: Things that are going on systemically in the body can manifest in the mouth."

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So stay attuned to the following warning messages, and have worrisome symptoms checked out by a dentist or doctor.
Dental warning #1: Flat, worn teeth plus headache

Sign of: Big-time stress

Many people are surprised to learn they're tooth-grinders. After all, they do this in their sleep, when they're not aware of it. And they underestimate the physical toll that stress can place on the body. "Crunching and grinding the teeth at night during sleep is a common sign of emotional or psychological stress," says Iacopino.

You can sometimes see the flatness on your own teeth, or feel it with the tongue. Or the jaw may ache from the clenching.

What else to look for: Headaches, which are caused by spasms in the muscles doing the grinding. Sometimes the pain can radiate from the mouth and head down to the neck and upper back, Iacopino says. Mouth guards used at night can relieve the symptoms and protect teeth.
Dental warning #2: Cracking, crumbling teeth

Sign of: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Older adults, especially, are vulnerable to teeth that appear to be cracking or crumbling away. The enamel becomes thin and almost translucent. But this erosion isn't a normal consequence of aging. In fact, it can happen at any age.

Disintegrating teeth are usually caused by acid that's coming up from the stomach and dissolving them, Iacopino says. The cause: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD, also called acid reflux disease). GERD causes stomach acid to back up into the esophagus -- and from there, it's a short distance to the mouth for some of the damaging acid. GERD is a chronic disorder caused by damage or other changes to the natural barrier between the stomach and the esophagus.

What else to look for: Dry mouth and heartburn are related GERD symptoms. (But in an older adult in someone else's care -- in a nursing home, for example -- these complaints may go unreported.) Cracking or chipping teeth in a younger person is also a telltale sign of bulimia, the eating disorder in which the sufferer causes herself (or himself) to vomit before digesting. Same net result: Stomach acid washes up into the mouth, over time disintegrating the tooth enamel.
Dental warning #3: Sores that won't go away

Sign of: Oral cancer

Many people bite the insides of their mouth as a nervous habit. Others sometimes bite the gum accidentally, creating a sore. But when an open sore in the mouth doesn't go away within a week or two, it always warrants showing to a dentist or doctor. "We all injure our oral tissues, but if an area persists in being white or red rather than the normal healthy pink, this needs to be evaluated to rule out oral cancer," says Susan Hyde, an associate professor of clinical dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry.

More than 21,000 men and 9,000 women a year are diagnosed with oral cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Most are over age 60. Oral cancer has a survival rate of only 35 percent, Iacopino says, but this is mainly because cases are often detected too late. Smokers are six times more likely to develop oral cancer, but one in four oral cancers develop in non-smokers.

What else to look for: Suspicious oral ulcers tend to be raised sores and often have red or white (or red and white) borders. They may lurk underneath the tongue, where they're hard to see. Bleeding and numbness are other signs, but sometimes the only sign is a sore that doesn't seem to go away. A biopsy usually follows a visual check.
Dental warning #4: Gums growing over teeth

Sign of: Medication problems

If you notice your gum literally growing over your tooth, and you're taking a medication for heart disease or seizures or you take drugs to suppress your immune system (such as before a transplant), it's well worth mentioning this curious development to your prescribing doctor.

"A swelling of the gums to where it grows over the teeth is a sign the dosage or the medication need to be adjusted," the ADA's Anthony Iacopino says. Certain drugs can stimulate the growth of gum tissue. This can make it hard to brush and floss, inviting tooth decay and periodontal disease.

What else to look for: The overgrowth can cause an uncomfortable sensation. In extreme cases, the entire tooth can be covered.
Dental warning #5: Dry mouth

Sign of: Sjogren's syndrome, diabetes

Many things can cause dry mouth, from dehydration and allergies to smoking and new medications. (In fact, hundreds of drugs list dry mouth as a side effect, including those to treat depression and incontinence, muscle relaxants, antianxiety agents, and antihistamines.) But a lack of sufficient saliva is also an early warning of two autoimmune diseases unrelated to medicine use: Sjogren's syndrome and diabetes.

In Sjogren's, the white blood cells of the body attack their moisture-producing glands, for unknown reasons. Four million Americans have Sjogren's, 90 percent of them women. Twenty-four million people in the U.S. have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disease caused by high blood sugar.

What else to look for: Other signs of diabetes include excessive thirst, tingling in the hands and feet, frequent urination, blurred vision, and weight loss. In Sjogren's, the eyes are dry as well as the mouth, but the entire body is affected by the disorder. Because its symptoms mimic other diseases (such as diabetes), people are often misdiagnosed and go several years before being properly diagnosed.
Dental warning #6: White webbing inside cheeks

Sign of: Lichen planus

The last thing you might expect to discover while brushing your teeth is a skin disease. But it happens. Lichen planus, whose cause is unknown, is a mild disorder that tends to strike both men and women ages 30 to 70. The mucus membranes in the mouth are often a first target.

Oral lichen planus looks like a whitish, lacy pattern on the insides of the cheeks. (The name comes from the same roots as tree lichen, a lichen that has a similar webbed, bumpy appearance.) Seventy percent of lesions appear in the mouth before they strike other parts of the body, says professor Anthony Iacopino.

What else to look for: Another common area where a lichen planus rash may appear is the vagina. Lichen planus often goes away on its own, but sometimes treatment is necessary.
Dental warning #7: Crusting dentures

Sign of: Potential aspiration pneumonia

Most people don't connect dentures (false teeth) with pneumonia, other than to think they're both words that often refer to the world of the elderly. And yet the two have a potentially deadly connection. "A leading cause of death in older people is aspiration pneumonia, often from inhaling debris around the teeth and dentures," Iacopino says.

In aspiration pneumonia, foreign material is breathed into the lungs and airway, causing dangerous (even fatal) inflammation. Too often, the problem stems from people in the care of others -- those in nursing homes, for example -- who fail to clean dentures properly. Dentures need to be removed daily from the mouth, cleaned with a special brush, and stored in a cleansing solution.

What else to look for: A soft, crusty material developing around dentures. With proper cleaning, though, you don't have to worry about other red flags. "It's amazing. You can get a 100-percent reduction in what's otherwise a leading cause of death for denture wearers," Iacopino says.

Govt’s popularity nose-diving: NAP’s ‘grand rally’

The leaders of the National Awami Party’s faction led by Mozaffar Ahmed, a partner of the Awami League-led alliance, on Monday said that the country is facing serious political crisis and the AL-led government has failed to meet the aspirations of the common people.
Senior leftist leader and president of the party, Mozaffar Ahmed, said at a grand rally of the party in Muktangan that the common people of the country are finding it almost impossible to maintain their families because of the price hikes of essential commodities.
The government has failed to control the prices of essential commodities, to solve the nagging problem of the acute shortage of power and water, and to stop criminalisation, extortion and tender manipulation by the AL activists, said Mozaffar.
As a result the popularity of the AL-led government has started nose-diving throughout the country, he opined.
In our country the gap between the poor and the rich is increasing day by day and the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are getting richer, said NAP’s president.
He called on the ruling AL to do the politics of principle and said that politics without principles cannot solve any of the country’s numerous problems.
Mozaffar said that the people are becoming frustrated at the role of both the ruling party and the opposition.
He called on both the ruling and opposition parties to make the Parliament the focal point of discussion, and to discuss the issues of gas, coal and transit to India in the Parliament.
NAP would continue its struggle for establishing the rights of the poor people, said Mozaffar.
The USA is pressuring the government to let foreigners use the natural resources of the country, so the government must decide whether it will work to safeguard the national interest or be exploited by the imperialists.
The rally, chaired by Mozaffar Ahmed, was addressed by the party’s general secretary Enamul Haque, presidium members Amena Ahmed and Lutfar Rahman, central leaders Abdur Rashid Sarkar and Paritosh Debnath, along with others.
Hasanul Haq Inu, president of a faction of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Pankaj Bhattacharya, presidium member of the Gana Forum, Bimal Biswas, member of the Workers Party’s politburo, and the joint convener of the Communist Kendra also addressed the rally.
Several hundred party leaders and activists from across the country took part in the grand rally.
-New Age

Transit to India cannot benefit Bangladesh: Jamiruddin Sircar

Former speaker and opposition BNP lawmaker Jamiruddin Sircar said on Monday that Bangladesh would in no way gain out f transit given to India.
He said that the Awami League government gave transit to India to link its regions through Bangladesh territory disregarding opinion of the people in the country.
Speaking at a discussion at the National Press Club Jamiruddin Sircar, also a standing committee member of the party said that a section of the intellectuals and some foreign envoys jointly brought one eleven for which democracy in Bangladesh has gone back by 20 years.
‘One eleven was unnecessary,’ he said.
The discussion on ‘The Conspiracy from 1/11 to Now: Tarique Rahman and future politics in Bangladesh’ was hosted by Swadhinata Forum at the Press Club to mark the 46th birthday of BNP senior joint-secretary general Tarique Rahman.
Sircar said that the Awami League led government was giving all jobs seeing their political background.
He said that the late president Ziaur Rahman and BNP established rule of law in Bangladesh and ‘impersonal functioning of the state.’
He urged party men and all those who love Zia and Tarique to counter all propaganda against them and the BNP.
Another BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy described one-eleven as ‘a stain on national politics.’
He criticised the role of the one-eyed civil society leaders during the two-year rule of the military backed emergency caretaker government.
He called for ‘strong unity’ of the nationalist forces to foil all anti Bangladesh conspiracies.
BNP senior joint secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir debunked an international conspiracy out to depict the past four-party alliance government as ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘communal’.
He said that the Awmi League led government ‘is giving transit to India but what about the ‘water’ issue.’
He said if any Indian bus or truck goes through Bangladesh, India would have to allow similar facilities to Bangladesh to go to China and Nepal.
Chaired by the Forum president Abu Naser Muhammad Rahmatullah, the session was addressed, amongst others, by BNP chairperson’s advisor AZM Zahid Hossain and Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal president Shirin Sultana.
-New Age

BNP calls hartal for November 30

The main opposition BNP on Monday called countrywide dawn-to-dusk general strike for November 30.

 

Earlier on November 14, it enforced a nationwide daylong hartal protesting the ‘eviction’ of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from her disputed house in the Dhaka Cantonment.
BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain announced the programme emerging from the meeting of its national standing committee at the party's Gulshan office.
The main opposition BNP at about 8:30 in the evening started the meeting of its highest policy-making body for the second consecutive day with its Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the chair.
The committee on Sunday adjourned the meeting till Monday evening.
On the first of the meeting, the body expelled BNP vice-chairman barrister Nazmul Huda from the party.
-Daily Star

Dhaka, Delhi to sign protocol soon to conserve Royal Bengal Tigers

Bangladesh and India will sign a protocol very soon to conserve the endangered species of Royal Bengal Tiger.
State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday said this while speaking as the chair of the plenary session of the Tiger Summit being held at Saint Petersburg in Russia.
The draft of the protocol has already been prepared and it will be finilised very soon, Dr Hasan said.
Heads of the governments and environment ministers from 13 tiger range countries including Bangladesh, China, Russia, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, India and Indonesia are taking part in the four-day summit.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina will speak in the high segment of the summit.
Dr Hasan called for stronger collaboration among the tiger range countries to conserve the habitats of the wild cats to double their population by 2022.
Terming the habitats of the tigers as the haven of the bio-diversity, Dr Hasan said, “We have to identify the tigers' habitats and take all efforts for their protection”.
Eco-tourism could be promoted through conservation of tigers and involving local people with the initiative, he said adding that all habitats of tigers must be brought under close vigilance so that none can take the tiger killing as a leisure pursuit.
Dr Hasan also urged for strong collaboration among Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Interpol and other international agencies to stop illegal trafficking of tigers, their skin and body parts.
The state minister highlighted the initiatives undertaken by Bangladesh for conservation of tigers and said the government is implementing a nine year Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan in this regard.
Besides, he said the government with the support of Global Tiger Initiative has prepared a National Tiger Recovery Programme (NTRP) to increase the population of tiger.
He said Bangladesh Forest Department and Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh are jointly working to reduce the tiger human conflict in the villages around the Sundarbans, a habitat of Royal Bengal Tiger.
-Daily Star