Mouth Healthy: Keeping up with your oral hygiene!

Keeping up with your oral hygiene is very important. Poor dental hygiene may lead to bad breath, cavities, and gum disease. There are more than 700 different types of bacteria in our mouths. Recently, scientists discovered it is connected to much more common diseases such as heart disease! Bacteria is able to enter the bloodstream from bleeding gums, and they stick to your platelets. Over time it can form blood clots and trigger a heart attack or stroke.

According to senior author Thomas Van Dyke of the Forsyth Institute, “there is significant epidemiological evidence supporting an association between oral infections, particularly periodontitis, and stroke among men and younger individuals.”

Another research team from Harvard School of Public Health suggested evidence that support gum disease and pancreatic cancer. In a study of more than 51,000 men, there was a 64% increase risk of pancreatic cancer. It’s more than just tooth decay, so having good dental hygiene is very important!