More and more safety trainers are realizing the importance of mixing in some wellness training to keep their workers healthy and on the job. Since this month is Children’s Dental Health Month, it’s a good time to give a quick overview of how dental care affects overall wellness.
Proper dental hygiene is good for more than just a glowing smile. Let your workers know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- Problems in your mouth can signal problems elsewhere in your body.
- Bacteria in your mouth can cause problems elsewhere in your body.
The mouth can be used a diagnostic tool. The CDC reports that “mouth lesions and other oral conditions may be the first sign of HIV infection and are used to determine the stage of infection.” Osteoporosis may also be indicated in postmenopausal women who show bone loss in the lower jaw.
In addition, saliva “can be used to detect and measure many compounds in the body,” including medications, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, opiates, other drugs, hormones, and environmental toxins. Saliva can also be used to detect antibodies against such viruses as HIV and hepatitis A and B, as well as antibodies against bacteria such as the one that causes peptic ulcers.
The mouth is a source of infection. Our mouths are home to millions of microorganisms, and in people with healthy immune systems, these organisms are harmless. But if the immune system is weakened by disease or medical treatments, oral bacteria can cause problems, including infective endocarditis and oral complications of cancer treatments. Advise your workers to check with their doctors about the side effects of medications that may reduce saliva flow or change the balance of microorganisms in your mouth.
In addition, recent studies point to links between gum infections and diabetes; heart disease; stroke; and preterm, low-weight births. The research is not conclusive and is ongoing, but it is enough for your workers to make these dental hygiene steps a priority for their overall lifelong health:
- Brush every day with a fluoride toothpaste.
- Floss every day.
- Limit sugary snacks.
- Get enough calcium.
- Don’t smoke or chew tobacco.
- See your dentist regularly.
Try a demo of BLR’s remarkable new Employee Training Center at no cost or obligation.
Also, remind your workers with children about the importance of starting them off with the right dental hygiene. (This will also keep workers on the job rather than taking kids to the dentist with oral problems.) According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Health:
For babies:
- Clean teeth with a soft, clean cloth or baby’s toothbrush.
- Avoid putting the baby to bed with a bottle.
- Check teeth regularly for spots or stains.
For children:
- Brush teeth with a fluoride toothpaste.
- Provide healthy foods and limit sweet snacks and drinks.
- Provide low-fat milk and dairy products high in calcium.
- Schedule regular dental checkups.
Finally, for your older workers, acknowledge that after a lifetime of taking good care of their teeth, the process may become harder with aging, especially if they suffer from arthritis or other mobility-reducing ailments. Offer these tips from the National Institute on Aging if they find it hard to hold a toothbrush:
- Buy a toothbrush with a larger handle.
- Slide a bicycle grip or foam tube over the toothbrush handle.
- Use a rubber band to attach the toothbrush handle to your hand.
Check out the CDC’s website for more tips on oral health for older Americans at http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth.
Unlimited training—one low cost. Demo the new Employee Training Center, there’s no cost or obligation.
Why It Matters
- Tooth decay affects more than one-fourth of U.S. children aged 2 to 5 and half of those aged 12 to 15.
- Twenty percent of all adolescents aged 12 years to 19 years have untreated tooth decay.
- Advanced gum disease affects 4 percent to 12 percent of adults. Half of the cases of severe gum disease in the United States are the result of cigarette smoking. Three times as many smokers have gum disease as people who have never smoked.
- One-fourth of U.S. adults aged 65 and older have lost all of their teeth.
- More than 7,600 people, mostly older Americans, die from oral and pharyngeal cancers each year. This year, about 35,000 new cases of oral cancer will be diagnosed. (All stats from the CDC)