Dentist, psychologist and oral care advocate Musawo Julie has revealed that like other kinds of care for the wellbeing of the body, oral health is equally or even more important.
According to Musawo Julie, most people are ignorant about their oral health and often tend to take care of their physical appearances. She said that oral health is important since the digestion process starts from the mouth and whatever is passed through the mouth is later carried to other body organs.
“So if the mouth is dirty, that means you're going to have a lot of kidney or heart problems, because whatever is passing through the mouth is also passed to other parts of the body. She said.
“But most people ignore that and care for their hair, they go visit the salons, some people go to salons more than they go to a dental clinic for a clean up, so I was like no, if people knew the importance of oral health, they would pay more attention to it,” she explained.
Musawo Julie made the statements on a phone interview with RX Radio’s Crystal Newman on the Groove Cafe. The dentist further described that oral health is such an important subject that people need to understand and act upon since it encompasses the tongue, the soft and hard tissues, the teeth, gum, down towards the throat.
Based on her research on oral health, she discovered that some food nutrients can only be broken down in the mouth and unless the mouth is clean enough it is not able to digest it leading to preventable high risk diseases.
“If your mouth is dirty and does not have the normal flora because the mouth contains good bacteria that should be present. If it is missing, there’s some food that you won't get in your body and it will lead to heart problems like pressure, diabetes, which are common problems among people,” said Julie.
She named some of these foods as roughages and root foods such as cassava, beetroot, turmeric that are responsible for the creation of nitric oxide, an essential body nutrient. This she said is acquired through eating green plants such as spinach, Arugula, the swiss chard all which contain nitrates that are broken down by bacteria found in the mouth.
Since the mouth is oxidized by water, the nitrates are oxidized into nitric oxide that helps blood vessels to be dilated and promote proper flow of blood, removing the clots that cause toxins that in turn causes earlier mentioned diseases.
She advised that taking most of these roughages half cooked or raw is the most effective way than boiling them saying it sometimes destroys all the nutrients in them.
Musawo Julie worked 8 years as a Dentist in the UK and returned to Uganda three years back, to share with fellow Ugandans the skills she learnt. She also oversees Help A Child charity organization that extends oral care services to children living with disabilities and sensitization of people in rural areas.
The Groove Cafe with Crystal Newman airs every Weekday from 4-5pm on RX Radio.
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