THE mouth gives away secrets as to what’s happening in the rest of the body if you know what to look for. You get tell-tale signs if someone’s immune system is firing on full tilt or if the system has started to become a bit sluggish.
Without even looking inside the mouth we can detect the first signs that all is not well. For instance, if someone has sores at the corners of their mouth (known as angular cheilitis) this can be due to the Candida fungus. Candida normally lives inside all of us in happy harmony; however, if our immune system isn’t working ideally candida grabs its opportunity to overgrow, resulting in the lip sores.
Looking inside, when we see red, swollen, pus-oozing gums and bone loss around the teeth, this is an indication that the immune system is overreacting to the bacteria that have been allowed to colonise around the teeth.
Even lots of tooth decay is a red flag as it means that the sugar and bacteria balance in our microbiome is out of whack in the mouth – and the rest of the body is reeling from the effects of these imbalances too.
The dentist can fix the immediate issues in your mouth but what’s equally important is what the patient does. We all have the chance to boost our immune system to allow the body to work to its maximum capacity, helping stave off disease. Boosting our immune system has become even more relevant in the pandemic era.
Our immune system is comprised of a complex network of cells, tissues, organs, and tiny substances which altogether help the body fight off bacteria, viruses, parasites and cancer-causing particles. It’s like a mega army with layers of different divisions that include white blood cells and organs and tissues like the thymus, spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes, skin, mucous membranes and bone marrow.
The nutrients we eat, the exercise we take, our stress levels, the variety of gut bacteria and amount of sleep we get will either strengthen or deplete our immune system. More and more studies are showing the benefits of high vitamin D levels and the positive impact it has on our immune system.
