Good Oral Hygiene Helps Cardiovascular Health

Good oral hygiene can be an essential part of your overall health. The American Dental Association recommends that everyone should brush their teeth following meals, floss daily, replace a toothbrush that might have frayed bristles or bacteria every three to four months and schedule regular dental checkups.

Yet many Americans often neglect their dental health, even when brushing. Some are unaware that properly brushing the gums and tongue should be part of a person's everyday dental routine.

According to researchers from Columbia University, they demonstrated that gum health increases with the narrowing of arteries through plaque buildup, also known as atherosclerosis.

"These results are important because atherosclerosis progressed in parallel with both clinical periodontal disease and the bacterial profiles in the gums," said Dr. Moïse Desvarieux, lead author of the paper and associate professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School, via a press release. "This is the most direct evidence yet that modifying the periodontal bacterial profile could play a role in preventing or slowing both diseases."

The study looked at 420 adults who were examined for a periodontal infection. More than 5,000 samples were taken from several teeth and beneath the gum, data was analyzed for 11 bacterial strains that may have been tied to periodontal disease, including seven control bacteria. Fluid near the gums was also examined for signs of inflammation.

Following a three year period, researchers discovered that improvement in gum health and a reduction in the proportion of bacteria linked to periodontal disease could cause a slower progression in the thickness of the two layers of the arterial walls.

"It is critical that we continue to follow these patients to see if the relationship between periodontal infections and atherosclerosis carries over to clinical events like heart attack and stroke and test if modifying the periodontal flora will slow the progression of atherosclerosis.," Desvaieux concluded,

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More information regarding the study can be found here.