Could Brushing and Flossing Save Your Life?
December 05, 2011, By Avery Hurt 0 comments
Some people brush and floss as if their lives depended on it. And that might true. Keeping your teeth and gums clean may do more than freshen your breath and prevent cavities—it may save your life.
Your mouth is absolutely crawling with bacteria (nothing personal, so is mine). Yuck, you say. Well, most of the tiny critters are harmless and some are even quite beneficial. However, when a few bad guys do turn up they can cause problems that go way beyond cavities and bad breath. Research has shown that people with periodontal infections (infections of the gums and bone supporting the teeth) have a greater risk of coronary artery disease.
The Old Chicken and Egg
No one fully understands yet the connection between gum disease and heart disease—or even if there is a causal relationship. The same bacteria that cause gum disease have been found in arterial plaque (this plaque is different from the kind the hygienist scrapes off your teeth, but it is nonetheless sticky crud that goops up in places where you don't want it). But the lab coats still haven't figured out for sure what is going on. However, the connection isn't likely to be coincidental.
The most probable hypothesis is that when you have gum disease bacteria get into the bloodstream and causes inflammation of the coronary arteries leading to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). We already know that inflammation is a marker for heart disease, and recent studies have shown that gum disease is associated not just with heart disease itself but with inflammatory markers such as increased C-reactive protein. So it is looking very likely that our old friend inflammation is at work here.
If systemic inflammation is the root of the problem, it wouldn't be surprising if we eventually discovered a connection between gum disease and other chronic diseases that we know to be associated with inflammation, such as Alzheimer's and rheumatoid arthritis.
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