Brush Your Teeth: Your Memory Will Thank You

A new study believes that poor dental hygiene could actually be linked to memory loss.

According to a study conducted in 2011, researchers looked at 273 people ages 55 and older to find a significant relationship between a person's number of natural teeth and his or her performance on memory tests.

For instance, even when researchers took age into account, both teeth and memory abilities tended to disappear with age.

Though the study authors are unsure of this connection, previous studies seem to show that the prescence of natural teeth can have an impact on cognitive function. Thus, an elderly person having fewer teeth may put him or her at greater risk for having memory problems later  in life.

According to Live Science, animal studies have even shown that those whose teeth were pulled out lost motor skills and had difficulty with learning thereafter. In fact, the rates of those who had lost more teeth showed higher neuronal loss, and more damage to the hippocampus-the part of the brain involved in memory formation-according to researchers.

As natural teeth send signals to the brain via a nerve that provides sensation in the face to help aid in motor fuctions, including biting and chewing, the study authors believe it is possible that loosing natural teeth can reduce those sensory signals between the teeth and the brain. This hurts function and possible memories and learning new ones.

Study participants had an average of 22 natural teeth. This is almost one-third fewer than a complete set of  human teeth, the study notes, which can cause significant difficulty chewing or eating certain foods with healthy nutrients can be vital to good memory function.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions.