Reading Your Clients:Teeth and Gums

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Oftentimes, a person’s smile is the first thing that draws attention. Whether a smile is effortless or genuine, it can attract more than admiring looks. It can also portray personality or determine whether someone is shy or outgoing. However, a smile can also depict more than a person’s inner and outer beauty. According to the American Dental Association, a person’s smile – or more directly, their teeth – are the window into their body and can actually say a lot about their overall health. As skin care professionals, it is important to have an overall understanding of your client’s well-being before performing treatments. By evaluating the teeth and gums of a client, you can be clued in to problems they might be facing which can affect the rest of their body, including their skin.

When taking a look at our teeth and gums, a basic understanding of their anatomy is appropriate. Typically used for biting or chewing food, our teeth are the first step in the process of food digestion – further explaining the age-old advice to always make sure you chew your food properly. Most everyone has two sets of teeth throughout their lifetime (known as their primary/baby teeth and their permanent teeth). From six months to a year old, children begin to form their 20 primary teeth which will ultimately be replaced by their permanent teeth during their early teenage years; the average, healthy adult has 32 permanent teeth.
Being aware of the anatomy of our teeth and gums represents a significant role in understanding oral health and the part it plays in the overall health of our body. Take the basic composition of our teeth for instance. The visible part of a tooth is called a crown, which is made up of three main parts: enamel, which is the white outer part of the tooth that is mostly made of a rock-hard mineral known as calcium phosphate; dentin, which is a layer underlying the enamel made up of living cells that secrete a hard mineral substance; and pulp, the softer, living inner structure of teeth where blood vessels and nerves run through.
All of the tissues surrounding and supporting our teeth is known as the periodontium. This structure is comprised of four different soft and hard tissues. First are our gums (gingiva), which are the firm, fleshy tissue covering the socket within the jawbone in which the root of a tooth are set within either jaw. Next, we have the cementum, a layer of connective tissue that binds the roots of the teeth firmly to the gums and jawbone. Then, the periodontal ligament is the tissue that assists in holding the teeth tightly against the jaw. Finally, the alveolar bone, also known as the alveolar process, is the condensed ridge of bone that is composed of the alveoli (tooth sockets) that contain teeth.
With the basic structure of our teeth and gums, one can now move onto the visible signs that can help skin care professionals recognize issues that could be contributing to their client’s skin care problems. For instance, yellow teeth can be caused by smoking and drinking tea and coffee, however it may also be the result of taking antibiotics such as tetracycline (for acne). This exemplifies the importance behind client intake forms and being sure to get a detailed list of the medication your client has taken or is currently taking. By assuming that a client’s discolored smile is the result of consuming too much caffeine, the skin care professional might put the client at risk by using products that do not react well with other unknown medications. Another example is the evident breakdown of enamel which can additionally be caused by excessive soft drink consumption, but can also be a sign of a high sugar and starch diet, gastrointestinal problems, the overuse of medications (such as aspirin), and outside forces that wear and tear down the enamel structure of teeth. Unfortunately, several of these issues can bring on additional complications outside of enamel erosion. Take a person’s diet for example; eating a well-balanced diet, including plenty of vitamins and minerals, can possibly minimize the likelihood of gum problems. The mouth can provide a glimpse into a person experiencing nutritional deficiencies. In fact, it can oftentimes reveal the first symptoms of such inadequacies, especially a lack of vitamins B12 and C, calcium, folic acid and iron. According to dentist Mervyn Druian, B.D.S. (RAND) D.G.D.P. R.C.S., “Poor diet, stress, too much alcohol or spicy foods can lead to over-acidity in the system which creates an overacidic environment in the mouth, which can inflame gums.” Therefore, if a person is stressed, anxious or even depressed, they might be at a higher risk of showing signs of poor oral health. When someone is stressed, their body produces a higher level of cortisol, which increases the likelihood of inflammation in their gums and throughout their entire body. Furthermore, stressed or depressed individuals tend to eat poorly and exhibit signs of poor hygiene that can manifest into their overall appearance from weight gain to acne to oily hair. Although, red, swollen gums are a definite sign that something harmful or irritating is affecting that part of the body, sore and pale gums can indicate signs of concern as well. When a person is anemic, their body does not have enough red blood cells or these cells do not contain enough hemoglobin, which results in their body not receiving enough oxygen. With our skin being the largest organ of the body, the depletion of oxygen would impact it greatly. Other symptoms of anemia, according to the National Anemia Action Council, include feeling tired, fatigued, weak, dizzy, irritable, short of breath or depressed. With anemia, you may also have chest pain, an irregular heartbeat, coldness in your hands or feet, pale skin, and/or brittle nails.
The importance in comprehending the link between a person’s oral health and their overall well-being can be exercised through the practical application of the information obtained and applied by the skin care professional. Sometimes simply looking and asking the right questions can provide all the answers you need.