Brushing your teeth is good for your heart

Posted on Mon, 28 Jun 10

For the first time it has been found that brushing your teeth twice a day could prevent serious heart disease or death. Poor oral hygiene is associated with periodontal disease, a common chronic inflammatory condition that has been linked to heart health.

Most people have a mouth infection

Periodontal disease affects almost 1 in 2 people and is mostly caused by poor oral hygiene. For some time periodontal disease has been known to raise heart disease risk. Periodontal disease is related to chronic infection in your mouth which results in increased levels of inflammation throughout your body that can over time damage your cardiovascular system and contribute to the development of heart disease.

Clean up your risk

A large study has found that compared to people who brushed their teeth twice a day people who brushed their teeth less often had a 70% increased risk of heart disease. It was also found that people who brushed less frequently had increased levels of inflammation in their blood suggesting that brushing your teeth less than twice daily increases systemic inflammation as well as heart disease risk.

Improving your personal oral hygiene by brushing your teeth regularly and maintaining dental appointments could help lower your risk of heart disease, the number one killer in the western world.

Reference:

de Oliveira C, Watt R, Hamer M. Toothbrushing, inflammation, and risk of cardiovascular disease: results from Scottish Health Survey. BMJ. 2010 May 27;340:c2451. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c2451