Mouth disease is a very serious problem in the United States. Not all companies carry dental insurance, and dental work is not covered under medical insurance despite the fact that neglected dental work can lead to serious health complications. Since dental work is very expensive, a very high percentage of Americans live with untreated mouth disease of one form or another.

Foul odor, tooth decay, bleeding gums, pain, swelling in the gums or jaw, broken teeth, dry mouth, sores in the mouth or on the tongue or lips, “fuzzy” tongue, fatigue, weight loss, random fevers, and an unpleasant taste in the mouth are all signs of some form of mouth disease. Ignoring symptoms does not improve them, although sometimes pain may dissipate for a period of time. Pain that temporarily relieves itself is likely to come back worse than before if the cause is never treated.


Mouth disease can have numerous causative factors. Neglect, disease, poor nutrition, and gum disease can easily cause mouth diseases. However, often mouth diseases combined with other symptoms may be the warning signs of the onset of other diseases. Mouth disease and sexual pain can mean the patient has genital warts, gonorrhea, or non-specific urethritis. Mouth infections combined with skin bumps may mean the patient is masking a case of genital herpes. The mouth is more interconnected to the body that most people realize, and the onset of adjoining symptoms may mean there are various causes to one single symptoms. Bear in mind, however, that mouth disease in itself is known to cause some serious symptoms of its own. Mouth diseases and fatigue may mean the patient has HIV or Sjogren’s Syndrome, although mouth disease that is extensive may cause fatigue on its own. Further testing is required in order to determine whether the mouth disease and various symptoms are in conjunction with other diseases.

Heredity plays a role in mouth health. The overall strength of teeth is generally passed on from parent to child. Other risk factors such as neglect and poor nutrition are controllable factors.

Because in most cases medical care and dental care are not interconnected by societal standards, testing beyond a mouth disease is often overlooked. Likewise, patients that are seen by medical doctors for symptoms that are caused by the mouth are often misdiagnosed by physicians. Both communities need to work more extensively with each other in order to determine better methods of diagnosing and treating overall health. Physical examinations in conjunction with a thorough history can help a physician diagnose the problem much more extensively than simply working on a patient’s teeth and treating mouth ailments. Blood tests can reveal more than just a mouth infection. Physical examinations ultimately give immediate feedback while blood tests and urinalysis give the physician an idea how well internal organs are functioning.

Long term mouth disease can lead to serious complications such as, chronic fatigue, blood infections, septic poisoning, and even death in rare cases. Complications from undiagnosed conjoining diseases are innumerable.

Treating mouth disease may involve such things as tooth removal, cavity repair, antibiotics, tooth replacement, capping, crowning, and overall tooth disease repair. However, in the case that mouth disease is an underlying cause or symptom of another disease may complicate treatment of mouth disease. Testing for probable related diseases is imperative in order to properly treat both the mouth disease and the underlying disease.

Because dental care and medical care have continuously been viewed as separate medical professions, patients themselves need to increase their awareness of how mouth disease and other diseases are inter-related. Patients need to be able to express their concerns to both their physician and their dental professional and insist on a cohesive effort between their physician and their dental professional. The medical community needs to increase their awareness to dental issues, and of course vice versa. The fastest way to see this result is if their patients are recommending and demanding it. Some dental professional are already starting to recognize that they need to work more closely with the medical community and that mouth health and overall health are inter-connected.

Mouth disease can be very difficult to cope with because of its extreme expense. Even those with dental insurance are typically far from adequately covered. Some dentists will allow for payment plans and financing options. There are financial options for those who struggle to afford dental care.