Gum Disease and Your Health.
Although hygiene habits, as a whole, tend to suffer in Alzheimer’s patients, dental tartar is now being identified as a possible pathogenic cause of amyloid plaque formation, a classic symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, in the brain. Researchers now theorize that these amyloid plaques may form as a defense response to bacterial intrusion in the brain.
Poor oral hygiene has also been associated with coronary heart disease. Recently, dental tartar is believed to lead to amyloid plaque formation in the brain. Amyloid plaque is the seed that can cause Alzheimer’s disease. The periodontal bacteria P. gingivalis can enter the brain and make way for other pathogens that cause brain inflammation and eventually lead to dementia.
Numerous research findings show that in long-term gum disease, bacteria can escape your mouth and get into your bloodstream. One way this happens is simply by swallowing the bacteria. Another way is through the opening of the "tight junctions" in the gum epithelium, which get rubbed raw by the tartar when we chew and speak. From there, it goes to all parts of your body. That’s bad news!
Periodontitis is linked to, Heart problems,
Lung problems,
Diabetes,
Arthritis,
Alzheimer’s disease,
Colorectal cancer,
Kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, stroke, and blood cancers in men.
Research is ongoing to find more links between periodontal disease and other health conditions. Even now, though, the bottom line is this. Gum disease is bad for your health, not just your teeth.
It has been demonstrated that persons with AD have
impaired oral health as a result of poor oral hygiene.
For example, patients with AD have more gingival
plaque, bleeding, and calculus compared with age-
matched, gender-matched adults, and submandibular
saliva output is impaired in persons with AD who are
taking medications. Poor gingival health and oral
hygiene have been found to increase with the severity
of dementia. Therefore, dental professionals and care-givers should use behavior management techniques for
preventive oral care. Older adults with cognitive
impairment have significantly older dentures that are
often less clean compared with persons who do
not have AD. Another problem is that AD patients’
perception of pain may be distorted, and localization of
dental pain is generally very poor.
To protect oneself from Alzheimer's disease, and the other related medical conditions, It is IMPERATIVE! To remove dental tartar, also called calculus, at least every six months! And, If there is bleeding, pocketing, or other signs of periodontitis, a thorough deep cleaning also called Scaling and Root Planing may be indicated. Visit https://www.drburch.com or call 650-965-1234 to learn more.