Gum Disease and Your Overall Health Risks
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Gum disease can impact your overall health status. Now add to that idea the fact that 50% of the population has some form of gum disease. The implications cannot be ignored.
The mechanism that links gum disease to the health of the rest of your body is the bacteria that causes gum disease. This bacteria can enter your bloodstream and can cause some serious medical problems.
Like What?
1. A suspected link to pregnancy and premature births.
Please read the 1-22-2010 news report: "Mother's Gum Disease Linked to Infant's Death"
Bacteria from the mother's gums was traced to the placenta. Her baby was full-term, but stillborn. This is only one case, but a direct link was demonstrated. Dentists has long suspected the possibility of premature births and low birth weight to be correlated with gum disease.
2. A suspected link to cardiovascular disease.
In 2009, the American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of Periodontology acknowledged a strong association between gum disease and heart disease.
This article noted: "those patients with moderate-to-severe periodontitis [gum disease] should be informed that they might be at an increased risk of atherosclerotic CVD [cardiovascular disease]. Cardiologists and family physicians should be sensitive to this and refer CVD patients to their dental care providers for a complete periodontal assessment."
3. A suspected link to diabetes.
While more research is needed, we know that poorly controlled diabetics are more likely to have gum disease than well controlled diabetics or non-diabetics. We also know that diabetic patients with gum disease have a harder time controlling their blood sugar levels.
So, you see, good oral hygiene, and routing dental checkups and cleanings, can do more for your overall health than you thought!
