We've all heard that drinking milk builds strong teeth and healthy bones. For most of us, that pretty much sums up the link between diet, fitness, and oral health. But in fact, it's way more than that... According to the Academy of General Dentistry , more than 90% of all systemic diseases show up orally. Your dental health care providers may be the first to identify a potential health problem.

The links may sometimes seem precarious. What does your weight have to do with your oral health? Well, obesity - along with diabetes and cardiovascular disease - has reached epidemic proportions. It has a direct link not only to these diseases, but to poor oral health through poor nutrition. Proper diet and exercise can go a long way to lessen the symptoms of these diseases.

What does this mean for you and your family? If you eat healthily and exercise to maintain weight and fitness level, you will be well on the way to avoiding cavities, periodontal disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Keeping your regular recall appointments, and providing us with your medical and dental history, may help identify diseases in their earliest stages. And be sure to inform us of any recent health problems - even if they seem unrelated to your mouth.

Our tendency to eat on the run - along with the easy accessibility of processed convenience foods, fast takeouts, sweets, and snacks - contribute to these alarming statistics: