Scary things like Diabetes, Stroke, Heart Disease, and Pancreatic Cancer can result from a lack of Brushing &, Flossing
Can a toothbrush help clean out your heart? Surprisingly, yes. Brushing your teeth has been shown to be the first step in preventing periodontal disease that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes complications.
80% of adults have periodontal disease and most cases go undetected. The disease raises the level of harmful bacteria in the mouth, which travels through the bloodstream to other organs in the body, and can lead to a plaque buildup in arteries surrounding the heart. Most people don’t think of their dentist when it comes to health problems that are not found in one’s mouth. But a dentist can actually be the first line of defense in reducing the risk for many of the most deadly diseases.
Brushing and flossing are effective means of preventing periodontal disease, but diabetes can counteract these efforts. Diabetes, which kills more people annually than breast cancer and AIDS, can weaken your mouth’s ability to fight germs, increase blood sugar levels, and make periodontal disease more difficult to control. Your dentist may suspect diabetes if you brush and floss regularly and still have symptoms of periodontal disease. Nearly 21 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes, yet one-third of them are not aware they have the disease. As periodontal disease worsens, surgery may be needed to save your teeth. The more teeth a person has lost, the greater the risk for cardiovascular problems such as heart disease. New studies published in the Journal of Periodontology are linking periodontal disease to diabetes and heart disease. The American Association for Cancer Research has even found that diseased gums raise the risk of pancreatic cancer.
In fact, men with a history of gum disease had a 63 percent higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer relative to men without periodontal disease after factoring out smoking, diabetes, obesity, and other potentially confounding factors. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer death in the U.S.
Periodontal disease works to destroy gums and is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. It is now known that patients with a 20 percent increase of periodontal bone loss have a 40 percent increase in developing chronic heart disease. The process begins when the plaque that settles around your gum lines fails to be removed by daily brushing and flossing. When plaque stays on your teeth, it turns into tartar, and only your dentist can remove tartar. The plaque and the tartar are irritants that house the bacteria that cause the gums to become infected and bleeding occurs. Bleeding gums does not equal health but rather disease. Have zero tolerance for bleeding! So when you think about it- flossing saves your teeth and your LIFE! Therefore, be knowledgeable about how gum problems start and look for early signs every day. Floss may be the cheapest health care insurance out there!
