FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 15, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 29
Salute to Dental Professionals
Why dental hygiene is
essential for overall health
Th e importance of maintaining clean
teeth and healthy gums goes beyond having
fresh breath and a white smile. Many
people are surprised to discover that oral
hygiene plays an integral role in overall
health.
Research indicates that oral health mirrors
the condition of the body as a whole.
Also, regular dental visits can alert dentists
about overall health and pinpoint if a
person is at a risk for chronic disease. An
oral health check-up also may be the fi rst
indication of a potential health issue not
yet evident to a general medical doctor.
Heart disease
According to the Academy of General
Dentistry, there is a distinct relationship
between periodontal disease and conditions
such as heart disease and stroke.
Joint teams at the University of Bristol
in the United Kingdom and the Royal
College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland,
found that people with bleeding gums
from poor dental hygiene could have an
increased risk of heart disease.
Bacteria from the mouth is able to enter
the bloodstream when bleeding gums are
present. Th at bacteria can stick to platelets
and subsequently form blood clots. Th is
interrupts the fl ow of blood to the heart
and may trigger a heart attack. Brushing
and fl ossing twice daily and rinsing with
mouthwash can remove bacteria and keep
gums healthy.
Facial pain
Th e Offi ce of the Surgeon General says
infections of the gums that support the
teeth can lead to facial and oral pain.
Gingivitis, which is an early stage of gum
disease, as well as advanced gum disease,
aff ects more than 75 percent of the
American population.
Dental decay can lead to its own share
of pain. Maintaining a healthy mouth can
fend off decay and infections, thereby preventing
pain.
Pancreatic cancer
In 2007, the Harvard School of Public
Health reported a link between gum disease
and pancreatic cancer. In the ongoing study,
51,000 men were followed and data was
collected beginning in 1986. Th e Harvard
researchers found that men with a history of
gum disease had a 64 percent increased risk
of pancreatic cancer compared with men
who had never had gum disease.
Th e greatest risk for pancreatic cancer
among this group was in men with recent
tooth loss. However, the study was unable
to fi nd links between other types of oral
health problems, such as tooth decay, and
pancreatic cancer.
Alzheimer’s disease
Various health ailments, including poor
oral health, have been linked to a greater
risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2010, aft er reviewing 20 years’
worth of data, researchers from New
York University concluded that there is
a link between gum infl ammation and
Alzheimer’s disease.
Follow-up studies from researchers at
the University of Central Lancashire in the
United Kingdom compared brain samples
from 10 living patients with Alzheimer’s
to samples from 10 people who did not
have the disease.
Data indicated that a bacterium —
Porphyromonas gingivalis — was present
in the Alzheimer’s brain samples but
not in the samples from the brains of people
who did not have Alzheimer’s. P. gingivalis
is usually associated with chronic
gum disease. As a result of the study,
experts think that the bacteria can move
via nerves in the roots of teeth that connect
directly with the brain or through
bleeding gums.
Th ese health conditions are just a sampling
of the relationship between oral
health and overall health. Additional connections
also have been made and continue
to be studied.
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