By Kelsi Matylewicz/Benco Dental Social Media Intern

If you’re thinking of the battery-operated game that tests players’ hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills by asking them to remove small body organs, it is one and the same.

Well, The Dental Trade Alliance, through their Foundation, is introducing a web-based woman, who doesn’t beep, but helps you learn why dental care is so important.

The Dental Trade Alliance Foundation has developed Operation: Whole Body Health.  Their “DTA Foundation” model features a graphic representation of the effects of poor oral health on your overall health, with the help of a model.

When visiting, https://wip.journeygroup.com/dtaf/ click on the various body parts and it will tell you the effects oral health has on that body part.

A little preview:

  • The tooth represents cancer. Research has shown that men with gum disease have a higher likelihood of developing cancer.
  • The bandage symbol represents the lungs: bacteria in the mouth can be aspirated into the lungs, causing respiratory disease such as pneumonia.
  • The heart represents a heart, one which will be hurting if oral health is not a priority. Inflammation and infection caused by oral bacteria might be linked to heart disease.
  • The purple kidney bean represents themselves. One study shows that “people with severe periodontal disease developed chronic kidney disease at four times the rate as those without diseased gums.”

Visit Operation:Whole Body Health to view the other body parts.

According to the HuffPost Healthy Living,

Francesco D’Aiuto, senior lecturer at the Eastman Dental Institute in London, chatted with The Guardian about what he refers to as the the “mouth-body connection,” or the idea that a healthy body is strongly correlated with good dental hygiene.

“The mouth is not disconnected from the rest of the body,” he explained. “People should not underestimate what the body senses when the mouth is neglected.”

To view more of his thoughts of the connection between mouth and body, read: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dont-forget-to-brush-your-teeth-seriously_55acf942e4b0caf721b324b3