Connecting Oral Health to Student Success

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Oral health is a significant issue that must never be taken for granted. It is essential; it has substantial effects on our lives, including its physical, mental and social aspects. Although it is still a wonder to a lot of people as to why a seemingly insignificant issue such as oral health holds such high importance, there is no doubt at all that it contributes immensely to the health of the entire body system.

According to local Braintree dentist Dr. Goodman, the mouth is an opening and a direct passageway to the rest of the systems. Hence, whatever affects the mouth or its health has a very high chance of affecting other parts of the body system as well, which can, in turn, affect our lifestyle at large. This article centers on oral health and its relationship with the performance levels of students.

What Is Oral Health?

Oral health has to do with the physical condition of the mouth and all its components, including the teeth, gums, tongue and all the surrounding tissues. Keeping the mouth healthy requires that you not only keep your mouth clean at all times by brushing and flossing regularly, but it also entails watching what you eat and maintaining good eating habits.

Failure to maintain the condition of your mouth can, however, lead to mild infections in some cases, and more severe infections in extreme cases. While the importance of oral health is quite clear, some people are still reluctant to take safety measures for one reason or the other. Oral health has also been directly linked with the nervous and cardiovascular systems, which means that oral diseases and infections can significantly increase the chances of strokes and heart problems.

Oral Health and Lifestyle

In addition to the immense value of oral health to the body system, oral health also contributes to our general lifestyle and relationship with others. It certainly is a dominant factor that affects the social life of both young and old alike. The reasons include:

• Bad oral health will, more often than not, lead to one physical condition or the other, which can limit the level to which a person can carry out certain social activities.
• Oral health has a huge impact on self-confidence and thereby affects how you relate to other people.
• An oral infection can damage the speech organs, which can, in turn, affect a person’s ability to speak.

Connecting Oral Health To Student Success

Again, the relationship between oral health and school grades may seem strange and unclear. However, it has been established that oral health can affect people’s general health and well-being, which plays a significant role in different aspects of their lives, including academic performances.

Children need to concentrate fully on their academics if they wish to do well in school. But this can be very hard for students with oral disorders as it is almost impossible to concentrate on schoolwork when in severe pain. A survey once showed that students with oral pain are four times more likely to have bad grades than healthy children. This statistic does not come as a surprise because it is expected that pupils will struggle more. After all, they are uncomfortable much of the time.

Moreover, orally challenged students sometimes tend to miss classes because of the discomforts and dental appointments that come with tooth problems. A study also showed that these students miss an average of five to six school days per semester, which is almost three times more than healthy student averages.

Another notable factor affecting students with oral ailments is the stigma they are likely to attract at school — and regardless of how much they try to ignore it, this insecurity tends to get to them. It is for this reason that many children experiencing oral challenges find it difficult to speak out about it, which prevents them from getting the treatment they need.

On the other hand, when a student is healthy all around, they don’t have any pain disturbing them, and they also do not have to worry about dental appointments. Therefore, they can concentrate fully on their schoolwork and participate in academic activities comfortably to better grades.

Conclusion

Indeed, oral health affects a student’s performance significantly. It is also known to have relative importance on almost every other aspect of a child’s life. The complications that come with deteriorating oral health are also very discomforting. Hence, parents must ensure that their children’s oral health is given adequate attention. Brushing your teeth twice daily and regular dental check-ups can go a long way to ensure dental health.