According to functional medicine, the gut is at the center of autoimmune disease. This is why there’s often a focus on symptoms of intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and other digestive distress as possible indicators of autoimmunity.
What most people don’t realize, though, is that the gut isn’t just the stomach and intestines but the mouth, too. When we consider the many potential triggers of autoimmune thyroid disease, we have to think about our mouths—especially the teeth and gums.