b'POOR ORAL HYGIENE CAN IMPACT OVERALL HEALTHBY DR. ERYNN BURKSG umdisease(periodonti-tis, periodontal disease) is a collection of inflamma-toryconditionsaffecting thetissueandsupporting structures around the teeth. Despitethepushfororal hygienepracticesliketooth brushingandflossingby publichealthentitiesand bigcorporations,gumdis-ease is common even among youngpeople.Infact,the CDCestimatesthat46%conditions have been linked of adults over age 30 showtopoororalhealth,includ-somesignofgumdiseaseing two major lifestyle-relat-(e.g.,bleeding,swollen,ored diseases.recedinggums,halitosis, deeppocketsbetweentheHeart Diseaseteethandgums);thenum- Heart disease is the num-ber increases further amongberonecauseofdeathin olderadults,withapproxi- theUSforbothmenand mately70%ofadultsoverwomen.Oral health research 65 having some form of peri- suggeststhatindividu-odontitis. alswithgumdiseaseare Whilesomeconditionsatleast1.14timesmore putanindividualatrisklikelytodevelopcoronary fordevelopinggumdiseaseheartdiseaseindependent (e.g.,diabetes),itsprimaryof dietary factors. Additional causeispoororalhygiene.researchhasfoundoral Whenoneneglectsregularbacteria in arterial plaques, tooth brushing, flossing, andsuggestingthatbadbacte-having regular dental exams,riacanmigratefromthe he or she puts themselves atmouth into the bloodstream. risk for gum disease. OtherFurthermore,case-control oralhealthrisksincludeandcross-sectionalstudies poor nutrition and smoking,both show an association of but hygiene practices are thegum disease with increased most important.stroke risk. This is likely dueFailure to properly brushto bacteria like P. gingivalis and floss allows bacteria tothat promote clot formation, form plaque on the teeth andand clot-forming bacteria in at/belowthegumline.Asthe arteries can lead to heart attack or stroke. The mech-plaqueaccumulates,sodo bocnews.com bad bacteria that can triggeranisms for how gum disease an immune response as theincreasestheriskofheart body tries to eliminate it. Asdiseaseremainsunclear aresult,anindividualcandespitestrongevidenceto endupwithred,swollen,show that gum disease can orbleedinggumsthatmaypredisposeanindividualto progresstotheboneandatherosclerosis(hardening surrounding structures thatofthearteries),heartdis-keep the teeth in place beingease,andassortedcompli-destroyed if left untreated. cations like heart attack and stroke. One hypothesis sug-Is Oral Health Linked Togests that oral bacteria and Other Diseases? inflammatoryproductsin Gumdiseaseisnotthethebloodstreamproducea only consequence of poor orhyperimmune response that incompleteoralhygiene.Amakeonemoresusceptible numberofothersystemictoheartdisease;another CONTINUTED ON PAGE 1110 11/23 bocnews.com'