Day 9: Oral health and gum disease
The mouth is the gateway for the entire body. So it should not come as a shock that your oral health is also intimately tied to your overall physical heath, including the health of your heart. Research indicates that tooth decay and especially inflamed and bleeding gums allows negative bacteria to spread from the mouth throughout the body causing significant heart health problems.
There are many recent studies that have investigated the role that gum disease plays in cardiovascular disease. Inflamed or bleeding gums provide easy entry points into the blood stream for over 700 different bacteria, which are commonly found in the mouth. When these oral bacteria invade the blood, they stick to the platelets, causing them to clot. This clotting can lead to partial blockages of blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease and/or heart attack. Additionally, deleterious bacteria can speed inflammation, which is a main root factor in heart disease.
It is becoming apparent that your chances of getting heart disease are increased, at least two fold, by having bad teeth no matter how fit or healthy your body is.
Indirectly, gum disease can also affect other secondary risk factors in heart disease such as obesity and diabetes.
For example, current science demonstrates that the unfriendly bacteria in our mouths play a direct role in causing obesity by both promoting weight gain and slowing weight loss. The common bacteria strain selenomona noxia is one such bacteria that is believed to play a significant role in obesity. As selenomona noxia levels rise at the gum level, so does bodyweight. Numerous other bacterial studies are underway demonstrating that good oral health leads to good body image and fitness.
Recent studies are also showing that an overwhelming majority of individuals with gum disease were also found to be at high risk of developing diabetes. The connection was so compelling that medical researchers at New York University postulated that dentists should offer diabetes screenings in their practices for patients with serious gum disease.
Here are some tips for good oral health.
The American Dental Association recommends you brush your teeth twice daily and floss after every meal to remove food trapped between teeth.
They also recommend that you visit a dental hygienist every six months for a professional cleaning. These professional cleanings are excellent to remove plaque, which are calcified deposits that build up on teeth and beneath the gums. Preventing the accumulation of plaque is critical as negative bacteria thrive on plaque.
While we agree with professional cleaning we have a little bit to add about the rest. When it comes to flossing that is fine but you might want to consider purchasing an ultrasonic oral cleaning device as well. They are reasonably priced and do an amazing job.
More importantly, we have a lot to say about brushing. While it is important to brush well and often, there is a larger story that the ADA doesn’t tell the world about.
The beginning of the story is that most commercial toothpastes, even those containing the ADA seal of approval, are actually incredibly harmful products containing a variety of known toxins and carcinogens. That is why poison warning labels are federally mandated for most toothpaste sold in groceries and pharmacies. Flip your toothpaste tube over to the back and begin reading. You might be very surprised.
The second part to the story is that no matter how much you brush, floss, and rinse with dental solutions, you are still left with a mouthful of bacteria and many of those bacteria are negative strains harmful to your teeth, gums and general health.
A couple forward minded companies have recently developed and released dental probiotic lozenges that contain “friendly” oral bacteria such as Bacillus coagulans and Streptococcus salivarius which promote healthy gums and teeth. While these products are very interesting and useful, they are limited in the fact that each product focuses on two bacterial strains and a far more beneficial, far reaching product would be a “prebiotic” oral care product that feeds the full gamut of healthy oral bacteria. Pure Chemistry has created and is about to introduce Safe Teeth, a very novel, prebiotic product for complete oral health and hygiene.
Tomorrow we will learn about diabetes as a risk factor for heart disease.
The mouth is the gateway for the entire body. So it should not come as a shock that your oral health is also intimately tied to your overall physical heath, including the health of your heart. Research indicates that tooth decay and especially inflamed and bleeding gums allows negative bacteria to spread from the mouth throughout the body causing significant heart health problems.
There are many recent studies that have investigated the role that gum disease plays in cardiovascular disease. Inflamed or bleeding gums provide easy entry points into the blood stream for over 700 different bacteria, which are commonly found in the mouth. When these oral bacteria invade the blood, they stick to the platelets, causing them to clot. This clotting can lead to partial blockages of blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease and/or heart attack. Additionally, deleterious bacteria can speed inflammation, which is a main root factor in heart disease.
It is becoming apparent that your chances of getting heart disease are increased, at least two fold, by having bad teeth no matter how fit or healthy your body is.
Indirectly, gum disease can also affect other secondary risk factors in heart disease such as obesity and diabetes.
For example, current science demonstrates that the unfriendly bacteria in our mouths play a direct role in causing obesity by both promoting weight gain and slowing weight loss. The common bacteria strain selenomona noxia is one such bacteria that is believed to play a significant role in obesity. As selenomona noxia levels rise at the gum level, so does bodyweight. Numerous other bacterial studies are underway demonstrating that good oral health leads to good body image and fitness.
Recent studies are also showing that an overwhelming majority of individuals with gum disease were also found to be at high risk of developing diabetes. The connection was so compelling that medical researchers at New York University postulated that dentists should offer diabetes screenings in their practices for patients with serious gum disease.
Here are some tips for good oral health.
The American Dental Association recommends you brush your teeth twice daily and floss after every meal to remove food trapped between teeth.
They also recommend that you visit a dental hygienist every six months for a professional cleaning. These professional cleanings are excellent to remove plaque, which are calcified deposits that build up on teeth and beneath the gums. Preventing the accumulation of plaque is critical as negative bacteria thrive on plaque.
While we agree with professional cleaning we have a little bit to add about the rest. When it comes to flossing that is fine but you might want to consider purchasing an ultrasonic oral cleaning device as well. They are reasonably priced and do an amazing job.
More importantly, we have a lot to say about brushing. While it is important to brush well and often, there is a larger story that the ADA doesn’t tell the world about.
The beginning of the story is that most commercial toothpastes, even those containing the ADA seal of approval, are actually incredibly harmful products containing a variety of known toxins and carcinogens. That is why poison warning labels are federally mandated for most toothpaste sold in groceries and pharmacies. Flip your toothpaste tube over to the back and begin reading. You might be very surprised.
The second part to the story is that no matter how much you brush, floss, and rinse with dental solutions, you are still left with a mouthful of bacteria and many of those bacteria are negative strains harmful to your teeth, gums and general health.
A couple forward minded companies have recently developed and released dental probiotic lozenges that contain “friendly” oral bacteria such as Bacillus coagulans and Streptococcus salivarius which promote healthy gums and teeth. While these products are very interesting and useful, they are limited in the fact that each product focuses on two bacterial strains and a far more beneficial, far reaching product would be a “prebiotic” oral care product that feeds the full gamut of healthy oral bacteria. Pure Chemistry has created and is about to introduce Safe Teeth, a very novel, prebiotic product for complete oral health and hygiene.
Tomorrow we will learn about diabetes as a risk factor for heart disease.
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