Dentists Treating for Heart Health?

So many people continue to brush and floss and visit the dentist in order to maintain a healthy, sparkling smile, but for those who have already said goodbye to such dreams, what is the point in heading to the dentist’s chair every six or twelve months? Well, recent studies are suggesting that there is far more significance in this ritual than holding on to your pearly whites.

The bacteria that grow within the mouth when food particles remain dormant there can travel through the blood stream. What does this mean? Well, for one thing, it is that bacteria that is responsible for the growth of plaque about the teeth. The plaque that can cause gum disease or tooth decay in the mouth can have even more severe consequences when traveling through the body. Just as it does in the mouth, here it can build plaque which attaches to artery walls, causing them to become constricted and slowing the blood flow through them. If this occurs in arteries entering the heart muscle, oxygen levels there can plummet. In arteries going to the brain, the constriction can lead to decreased blood flow and increased risk of stroke.

That’s not the only danger to the body that one faces when failing to practice proper oral hygiene. Once gum disease has set in, the inflammatory agents called endotoxins also enter the blood stream. Carried through this system, they can lead to serious infection in the heart or its valves (endocarditis). If that isn’t enough to scare you, consider the fact that if the tissue within the tooth becomes infected, and is not treated with a root canal, it will die. The dead tissue will provide a constant source of bacteria that will hitch a ride with blood cells.

Given these facts, it is not really surprising to find that those people who fail to brush their teeth regularly are seventy percent more likely to contract heart disease.

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