The Gum-Heart Connection

Are You Gumming Up Your Heart? - New Science Warns About New Threat to Your Heart

As if you didn’t have enough to worry about … emerging science is now telling us that bad breath really can kill you! Calling it the “Oral-Systemic Connection” is the scientific way of saying that gum disease is the new risk factor for heart disease, strokes, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and pregnancy complications.

Normally, inflammation is the body’s way of fighting off disease and injury. However, what can start out as a good thing can turn bad when it goes on too long. Chronic long-term inflammation (like gum disease) creates dangerous inflammatory proteins which circulate in the blood stream and cause other life-threatening medical problems.

CRP (C-reactive protein) is made in the liver in response to chronic low-grade infections such as gum disease. Research is showing that it is more predictive of future heart attacks than is cholesterol. This is because CRP damages the inside lining of blood vessels and creates blood clots. This makes CRP (as well as gum disease) a very important risk factor for heart disease. It’s called “systemic inflammation.”

For an aging population concerned about reducing risk factors, this information is good news. Physicians and dentists now work together with their patients to control CRP levels, in part by insisting that they keep their mouths healthy and free from gum disease.

Many people are unaware of this silent threat to their lives. Sharing this information with them could very well save a life. Further, you can also quit “gumming up your heart” and reduce your own risk by stamping out bad breath and any remnant of gum disease. When you do - the life you save may be your own! And - you’ll enjoy more healthy years with your grandchildren!

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