Watch Your Filthy Mouth

Is there a more brain-dead time than the 2 minutes you spend brushing your teeth? You stand in front of the mirror, bristle to enamel, foam spewing, with nary a thought in your head. Thing is, you're missing the most important opportunity of the day for self-diagnosis.

For starters, gum disease, as evidenced by pink bristles, multiplies your risk of developing heart disease by seven.

"Unhealthy gums result from an active bacterial infection, so there's probably something else going on in your body that's not good," says Domenick Zero, D.D.S., director of the oral-health research institute at Indiana University. And research has linked diseases of the mouth to problems in the pancreas, stomach, sinuses, and more. Luckily, your mouth is easier to explore than your organs, and symptoms appear early enough for you to stop the damage.

Here's what your mouth is saying, if you'd only lend an ear.

Dragon Breath

What the fumes are saying: "A lot of cases of bad breath don't originate in the mouth," says Ted Raybould, D.M.D., a professor of dentistry at the University of Kentucky. "One common source is the sinuses." Inflammation of your nasal passages can be caused by allergies or a chronic infection, and can breed bad breath in two ways. First, a stuffy nose forces you to inhale and exhale through your mouth. This dries up saliva that would otherwise kill bacteria, the source of most bad breath. Second, post-nasal drip is a potent producer of halitosis. "Mucus flows down the back of your nose and onto the back of your tongue," says Mel Rosenberg, Ph.D., a microbiologist at Tel Aviv University. This accumulating slime feeds bacteria, which in turn breed volatile sulfur compounds, the chemicals that create foul oral odor.

How to answer back: Start by changing your rinse-and-spit routine. "Gargle with mouthwash before bed, rather than in the morning," says Rosenberg. "At night, your mouth produces less saliva, so the bacteria aren't being washed away as regularly." And the longer bacteria linger, the more sulfurous stink bombs they can create. "Gargle for half a minute and target the back of your tongue," he says. "Tilt your head back and breathe through your nose." If that doesn't do away with the stench, you may actually be harboring a nasty sinus infection that could spread to other body parts. Book an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat specialist for a diagnosis. They may prescribe antibiotics or allergy medication to clear your sinuses for good. (To locate one, go to entnet.org and click on "Find an ENT.")

Cold Sores

What those scabby patches are saying: Cold sores feel bad and look worse, but that's minor compared with the heart havoc the herpes virus can wreak. In a study published in the journal Circulation, researchers tested people for an antibody that shows prior infection with herpes simplex 1 (HSV1), then monitored them for 4 years. Those whose blood contained the antibody were twice as likely to have suffered a heart attack. The reason? HSV1 lies dormant in the nervous system until stress, illness, or fatigue causes a cold sore. Researchers suspect that when the virus reactivates, it triggers a nerve response in the coronary artery that may lead to dangerous clotting.

How to answer back: Megadoses of stress can bring on a cold sore and a heart attack, so taming tension could help you avoid both. In a recent German study, 21 cold-sore sufferers were assigned either 5 weeks of hypnosis, in which they were taught to cope with stress, or a placebo treatment. After 6 months, hypnotized subjects reported up to 43 percent fewer cold-sore symptoms and lower levels of stress. Go to asch.net to find a certified clinical hypnotherapist near you. Or consider another method of stress relief, such as yoga, tai chi, or meditation. Research shows these can quell tension and increase immune-system cells.