Weight loss is a billion dollar industry, and if you think about it in a round about kind of way, so is weight gain. Talking about weight though, can be a bit of a taboo topic, especially when you go to the Dentist. I think this is because the perception is that your weight has got nothing to do with your teeth, its absolutely non of OUR business as dental professionals what weight you are, and if you wanted to talk about weight you wouldn’t gone to slimming world (insert other slimming group here) rather than your dental hygiene appointment.

Weight is a very sensitive subject, same with drinking alcohol and smoking. The reason we as dental professionals feel uncomfortable talking to you about it is that we’re not perfect ourselves. Most of the time I’m thinking I could loose a few pounds myself and I would never want anyone to feel bad, sad or worse feel that they couldn’t come back again to see me, so generally we ignore or avoid the issue.

In actual fact there is loads of research out there to say that weight gain and Obesity will have a negative impact on your dental health and I personally have seen a lot of patients who are overweight or obese and coincidentally or not are suffering from Gum Disease or really extreme Gingivitis, so I feel like we’ve got to talk about it.

I feel if I don’t pass this information on I’m doing you a massive disservice and at the end of the day all I ever want for you is health. I’m thinking the best thing for me to just suck it up, and have that awkward conversation about weight and make you aware of the risks to your teeth and gums. Either that or you can read about it here at your leisure in the comfort of your own home so you can find out as much information as possible. My goal here and always is to never make anyone feel uncomfortable, if someone I didn’t know caught me off guard and started talking to me about my weight, usually with an extra person present in the form of a nurse I know I would feel pretty shit about it, so know this was never my intention.

Globally, Obesity continues to rise year on year (WHO) and is linked to many other health problems like:

Diabetes
High blood pressure
Cancer
Breathing difficulties
Sleep Apnea

Its been found in several different studies that as you gain weight around your middle (weight circumference - or as Peter Kay would say, the capital D effect) or your BMI increases so does the likelihood that you will develop Gum Disease and even Gingivitis. This risk also increases the heavier you get. Now this research is still ongoing and we are not 100% sure of the whos and the whats and the whys but this link between Obesity and Gum Disease is thought to be either due to:

Chronic Inflammation - inflammation is actually your bodies way of protecting you from harm and usually does you good in the short term, but the longer the inflammation process goes on for the more damage will be caused to your body. In Obesity, inflammation is caused by fat cells. We absolutely do need some fat cells to survive of course, but the more fat cells you have and the longer you are overweight for, the more inflammation there will be which isn’t great for the gums.
Insulin Resistance - this means your body doesn’t respond to the hormone Insulin, which means there’s too much sugar hanging around in your blood and to make matters worse your body can’t use it for anything.
Oxidative Stress - this means your body can’t detox or heal itself as it usually would.
A combo of all three of these things.

The issue with Obesity and Gum Disease is there are too many overlapping links between the two conditions. Obesity is linked to Diabetes, Gum Disease is also linked to Diabetes an so on. It might even be a two way street and having Gum Disease initially might mean that you’re more likely to become overweight or obese later in life - now that ladies and gentlemen is a reason to get cleaning those teeth and gums!

That being said there is enough evidence that Obesity, even Childhood Obesity could be a factor in predicting how likely it is that you already have Gum Disease, or might develop it later so this is a chat we need to have at your appointment, and if you are diagnosed as obese by you GP, it may be helpful for them to recommend that you go get your gums checked out with either your Dentist or Dental Hygienist. Just saying.

If you are overweight or obese, it isn’t the end of the world for your gums, so don’t panic. Studies have shown that improving your oral hygiene at home can make huge improvements in gum health if you are overweight or suffering with Obesity . You can do this by

Using something in to clean in between your teeth everyday - you can get more information on this here.
Brushing your teeth twice a day for 2 minutes with either a manual or an electric toothbrush - you can get more information on this here.
Using a fluoride toothpaste that meets your dental needs - you can find out some more information on some of my favourite toothpastes here or on my YouTube channel.

Gum treatment is also always an option for you, and you can discuss this with your Dentist or Dental Hygienist Even seeing your Dental Hygienist ever 3 months will help massively because you’ll be checked for Gum Disease at every visit and its more likely that we’ll catch Gum Disease at an early stage.

There are some research studies that say that the end result of your Gum Disease treatment might not be as good if you are suffering with Obesity but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give the treatment a go as long as we have an understanding about this from the beginning. Loosing weight has been shown to improve wound healing so that might possibly mean that your gum treatment might work better if you are loosing weight throughout the treatment process as well. That being said it was reported that 6 months after weight loss surgery (which is a pretty extreme option) some patients actually reported an increased level of bleeding around their gums, which is a common sign of gum problems so I guess the jury is still out on that one.

All in all, Obesity is not easy and is caused by a number of different physical and emotional factors. It definitely does not mean that you will 100% get Gum Disease and loose all your teeth, but like smoking or having Diabetes, Obesity is a risk factor that we need to think about when you come to your dental appointments. This means its so so important that you have a really good oral hygiene routine and that you visit me or your Dental Hygienist regularly if you feel you are overweight, obese or put on a large amount of weight over a fairly short period.

If you are overweight or obese, the best thing you can do for you to make you healthier is to try and loose weight. It will also mean there is less inflammation in your body and your risk of developing Gum Disease will go down and how your body handles infections like Gum Disease will improve. Loosing weight is never easy and safest way to do this is slowly and steadily with a calorie controlled diet and exercise plan with the advice of your doctor, especially if you are starting a new plan. If you have any questions please message me or comment below.

Thanks so much for reading <3.