GOING to the dentist is not just about coming out with a bright smile – it could save your life.

Illnesses and diseases, from dental decay and gum disease, to leukaemia, anaemia and oral cancer, can be spotted during a regular check up.

The dentist can get an idea about a patient’s overall health by just looking in their mouths.

During Oral Health Month this month, Colgate has teamed up with the British Dental Association to raise awareness of the importance of looking after your mouth.

Just as exercise and balanced diets are vital for a healthy body, so good diets and basic hygiene are vital to keep a mouth healthy.

Nadir Khan, 45, a specialist oral surgeon, explained: “Gum disease is one of the most common diseases in the world, and everyone will have some level of it.

“It can be affected by stress, smoking, plaque build up. It could even be a result of genetics, as some people are just more prone to getting it.

“Gum disease is also linked to other diseases.”

Mr Khan splits his time between Colchester General Hospital, where he may see patients with facial deformities and who need surgery after accidents, and the Colchester Dental Referral Centre on the Colchester Business Park, the only practice in Essex and Suffolk which houses four specialists, where patients are referred by dentists for complex treatments.

Mr Khan, who lives near Manningtree, stresses the difference between tooth decay and gum disease..

He said: “If you lose your teeth, you lose your teeth, but if you have gum disease, it could lead to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and you could lose your life.

“While dental decay is not good, it doesn’t have the significant health risks these other diseases have.”

Saying that, he stressed keeping teeth clean could also help people’s overall wellbeing as diet is so important to overall health.

“Sweets, chocolates and sugary, fizzy drinks have become the norm, so we do not realise how bad they are – not just from a dental point of view, but for our general health,” he said.

Looking after our mouths properly is about breaking down some misconceptions, explained Mr Khan.

“People are not aware that you should brush your teeth before you have breakfast rather than afterwards,” said Mr Khan, who has been practicing for 23 years – 16 of which have been in oral surgery.

After eating, teeth become weak, so brushing after breakfast could cause the enamel to wear off, causing sensitive teeth and even tooth decay, according to Bupa.

Mr Khan continued: “When you start scrubbing your teeth, it increases the level of wear on your teeth. The best thing to do is to brush before breakfast and give your mouth a rinse afterwards, and brush before you go to bed at night.”

The dad-of-two, who admitted he was “not impressed” when his 14-year-old daughter came home from the dentist saying she needed a filling, said over the years he has noticed a shift in types of oral diseases being treated and the ages of sufferers.

“Oral cancer used to be a disease seen in older people, in their sixties and seventies, but we are now seeing it in the under-40s. The main reasons are because of the fashion for smoking and drinking.

“Everyone knows about the link between smoking and lung cancer, but it can also cause oral cancer, and if you smoke and drink, that rate increases significantly.

“There is also a younger demographic, and more women coming in at a younger age with oral cancer.”

He acknowledged changes made by the Government had left many people unhappy with NHS dental care.

“A large number of patients do not have access to NHS dental care, and while the Primary Care Trust is trying to address that, we see more people coming in for multiple extractions because of neglected mouths.

“Patients really have to persevere and get regular check ups.

“Dentists can tell you about your general health by looking inside your mouth – they are not just people who are drilling and filling, they are highly specialised clinicians.”