Oral Health & Your Heart

Healthy Hygiene, Healthy Heart?

Believe it or not, how you take care of your teeth affects not only your oral health, but may well affect your heart health, too. Although scientists are not certain of the precise relationship between the heart and oral hygiene, studies consistently demonstrate a link between the two. It's possible that a mouth filled with bacteria and their toxins allows a continuous stream of poisons to enter the system. Such poor oral hygiene or untreated gum disease could conceivably contribute to a chronic low-grade illness.

Oral Infections & Mobile Bacteria

In fact, some current research suggests that gum disease may be a more serious risk factor for heart disease than hypertension, smoking, cholesterol, gender and age. Recent studies actually identify those with gum disease as being at higher risk for heart attacks than the rest of the population. Scientists have clearly demonstrated that the greater the level of gum infection, the greater the chance for oral bacteria to enter the blood stream. If the bacteria reaches your arteries, it may easily irritate your arteries, just as it irritated your gums in the first place. Such arterial wall irritations typically result in a buildup of protective plaque, which in turn can harden, thus blocking blood flow. Of course, without sufficient blood flow your heart can easily have a heart attack. Further, loosened arterial plaque may itself travel through the bloodstream, reach your brain, and form a stroke-producing blockage.

Prevention & Detection

Your best defense against any of these possible scenarios, is to maintain a consistently healthy mouth. Not only through meticulous daily brushing and flossing habits, but by visiting our office for your regular check-ups at least twice a year. Remember, gum disease is a silent but serious problem that may go unnoticed without those professional exams. And it's relatively easy to take care of a little stubborn tooth plaque now, but far more difficult to take care of the kind that builds up in your arteries.

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