You’ve had a spicy lunchor a fast cup of coffee,and now it’s time to meetwith your boss or that importantclient—so you grab yourtoothbrush for a quick oralhygiene touch–up. But…if youthink that fresh breath is theonly good reason to brushyour teeth, think again! Newresearch shows a strong relationshipbetween the health ofyour mouth and the well–beingof the entire body.
Traditionally, dentistry and medicine have been entirely separatedisciplines. New information, however, is showing how intricatelyoral health and physical health are intertwined. Heartattacks, headaches, arthritis, cancer and premature labor all haveassociations with poor oral health.
Anyone who thinks they’re too busy to deal with oral hygieneshould know that the bacteria in the mouth outnumber the cellsthat make up the body. These bacteria form in clump–like coloniesof sticky plaque, or bio–film. The bacteria in this bio–film produce aninflammatory process that is often overlooked. Unlike sore throatsand earaches, bleeding and swollen gums are often ignored.
Skipping the twice–daily chore of toothbrushing leads to a buildupof plaque on the teeth and gums and then gingivitis––inflammationof the gums. Continued gingivitis causes loss of the bonearound the teeth, the hallmark of periodontal disease.
Patients with periodontal disease, or periodontitis, have aconstant inflammatory reaction occurring in their mouth. Bacteriaand by–products of inflammation enter the bloodstream andpass to other organs. In a healthy mouth, vigorous brushing willintroduce oral bacteria into the bloodstream. Periodontal diseasepatients have gums that bleed easily and teeth that move in thesocket. Even without brushing, oral bacteria are constantly enteringtheir bloodstream in huge numbers.
Traces of oral bacteria have been found in arterial plaques—thesame arterial plaques that are responsible for heart attacks andstrokes. Originally, scientists thought of atherosclerosis as a simpleproblem of a “clog” in the blood–vessel “pips.” We now understandthat it is an intricate process between inflammation, fatty plaquesand a living artery.
As early as 1989, scientists learned of a correlation betweenheart attack and periodontal disease. Finnish scientists studiedone hundred heart attack patients and compared them to a similarnon–heart attack group. They found substantially worse dentalhealth among those who had suffered a heart attack. The exact relationshipand mechanism between oral bacteria and heart diseaseare the focus of much current research.
The financial impact of a heart attack has been estimated at$150,000 for intensive care, bypass surgery, rehabilitation, lost incomeand the cost of finding and training replacement workers.Besides costing a life, this can be very costly for a business.
Patients with adult–onset diabetes, so common here in SouthTexas, also have some of the worst cases of periodontal disease.Obesity, a leading cause of diabetes, works hand–in–hand withperiodontal disease. Fat cells in the body have been found to produceinflammatory chemicals. These chemicals, cytokines, combinewith the bacteria of the mouth and cause even greater bonedamage than would have occurred otherwise. Obesity alone isrelated to multiple disease problems. On average, obese workerstend to lose a week of work a year due to medical problems associatedwith their weight. Stanford University researchers found thatobese men and women earn on average $3.41 per hour less thantheir peers, about $7,000 per year.
Poor oral health can even play a role in pre–term delivery. In onestudy, mothers with periodontal disease were three times morelikely to have preterm deliveries (delivery earlier then 37 weeks).
And in today’s tough economy, many are considering employmentwell past the traditional retirement age of 65. The AmericanDental Association has stated that 80% of persons over 65 havegingival disease—the same disease with close ties to other healthproblems. If you plan on staying in the workforce, it can pay—literally—to take care of your mouth.
