Don’t Ignore your Dental Cleaning—OR—Did you know that bleeding gums are more dangerous to your health than jumping out of an airplane?
Dentists have always known that untreated gum (periodontal) disease causes people to lose their teeth. There have been several newly published studies that now find people who have gum disease are at greater risk of other systemic diseases like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It appears that certain bacteria in diseased gum tissue create a high level of pro inflammatory components that flow in the bloodstream throughout the entire body. The inflammatory process, combined with harmful bacteria can cause blood clots (leading to stroke) and cause decreased blood flow leading to heart attacks.
The American Dental Association also states that pregnant women with poor dental health are seven times more likely to have pre-term, low birth weight babies.
The good news is that with a little preventive care, all of these problems can be avoided. Brush your teeth using a soft toothbrush two times per day. Diligently floss once a day. Avoid long term use of mouth rinses with high alcohol content. (Listerine is 30% alchohol-60 proof!). And of course, visit your dentist regularly for professional cleanings and periodontal screenings. Gum diseases do not usually hurt or have any symptoms in the early phases, so often the only way to know if you have a problem is for your dentist to measure the “pockets” around your teeth, look at your x- rays for bone level height, and check for the presence of the harmful bacteria (via microscope or other simple tests).
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