{"id":759,"date":"2026-05-04T23:22:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/?p=759"},"modified":"2026-05-12T23:24:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:24:58","slug":"how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"How Routine Dental Exams Can Reveal Hidden Health Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Man<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

There\u2019s no doubt that your dentist can spot oral health issues right away. Whether they are minor or major, cavities, gum disease, and the like will be able to be seen and treated right away. However, oral healthcare professionals might be able to notice other medical conditions as well. Here are five things they might see first to protect your grin<\/a> and overall well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1.)  Diabetes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Diabetes can cause excessive thirst or fatigue, but other symptoms may show up in your mouth as well. Your gums may bleed more often or begin receding, and your teeth might feel wiggly. These are a few signs that your dentist will be able to watch for to see if there\u2019s anything awry. While these can also happen from poor oral hygiene, you can get a hint at your overall health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.)  Anemia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have anemia, then that means you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to your body\u2019s tissues. You may feel weak or short of breath, but the lining of your mouth might also be very pale. Your tongue may also look smooth, meaning it doesn\u2019t have its signature bumpy texture. Finding this condition earlier can help you avoid any complications it can cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.)  Acid Reflux and GERD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and acid reflux can cause heartburn, but they weaken your enamel. The stomach acid that comes up can erode the backside of your teeth or create lesions toward the back of your mouth. Dentists will be able to spot them during checkups and let you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.)  Osteoporosis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will often get X-rays taken during your semi-annual visits. While these images reveal things like cavities, they can also help you notice any changes in your jaw. If it has deteriorated since the last time you had them compared to the present, then there\u2019s a chance bone loss has also occurred elsewhere in your body. Your provider will be able to put these two things together to get you toward the help you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.)  Heart Disease<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Similar to diabetes, your gums will tell on you about heart disease. If they are swollen, bleeding, or red, then that\u2019s often a telltale warning sign of this condition. In fact, periodontal disease<\/a> can leave you at a higher risk of cardiovascular trouble. So, by treating one, you may be able to help the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since your dentist is able to spot several medical conditions, it\u2019s important you stick to your twice-yearly checkup. These simple visits will be able to help you have a stronger smile and maybe a healthier body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Distinctive Dentistry<\/a>, our team is proud to provide exceptional general and family dentistry to patients throughout the Dallas community. Led by compassionate dentists<\/a>, we can make sure your smile is in great shape to protect your overall well-being. If there are any worrying signs, we can get them sorted to help you feel more confident. If you are due for your next semi-annual visit, schedule an appointment<\/a> or call our office at (770) 445-6606.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no doubt that your dentist can spot oral health issues right away. Whether they are minor or major, cavities, gum disease, and the like will be able to be seen and treated right away. However, oral healthcare professionals might be able to notice other medical conditions as well. Here are five things they might […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Health Conditions Dental Exams Can Spot | Distinctive Dentistry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Your routine dental checkup does more than protect your smile; it may be able to catch some health conditions early. Here\u2019s what to know.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Health Conditions Dental Exams Can Spot | Distinctive Dentistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Your routine dental checkup does more than protect your smile; it may be able to catch some health conditions early. Here\u2019s what to know.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Distinctive Dentistry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-04T23:22:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-12T23:24:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"distinctivedentistry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"distinctivedentistry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/\",\"name\":\"5 Health Conditions Dental Exams Can Spot | Distinctive Dentistry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T23:22:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-12T23:24:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb\"},\"description\":\"Your routine dental checkup does more than protect your smile; it may be able to catch some health conditions early. Here\u2019s what to know.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533,\"caption\":\"Man smiling while at the dentist\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Routine Dental Exams Can Reveal Hidden Health Conditions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Distinctive Dentistry Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb\",\"name\":\"distinctivedentistry\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"distinctivedentistry\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/author\/distinctivedentistry\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Health Conditions Dental Exams Can Spot | Distinctive Dentistry","description":"Your routine dental checkup does more than protect your smile; it may be able to catch some health conditions early. Here\u2019s what to know.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Health Conditions Dental Exams Can Spot | Distinctive Dentistry","og_description":"Your routine dental checkup does more than protect your smile; it may be able to catch some health conditions early. Here\u2019s what to know.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/","og_site_name":"Distinctive Dentistry Blog","article_published_time":"2026-05-04T23:22:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-12T23:24:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"distinctivedentistry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"distinctivedentistry","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/","name":"5 Health Conditions Dental Exams Can Spot | Distinctive Dentistry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-04T23:22:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-12T23:24:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb"},"description":"Your routine dental checkup does more than protect your smile; it may be able to catch some health conditions early. Here\u2019s what to know.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AdobeStock_442400708__1773164428_45674.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"caption":"Man smiling while at the dentist"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/how-routine-dental-exams-can-reveal-health-conditions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Routine Dental Exams Can Reveal Hidden Health Conditions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/","name":"Distinctive Dentistry Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb","name":"distinctivedentistry","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"distinctivedentistry"},"url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/author\/distinctivedentistry\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":761,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}