Let’s know some more about it!
When we think about our heart health, we usually think about maintaining a healthy diet with regular exercise. But do you know that maintenance of our gums keeps your heart healthy and reduces the risk of getting any kind of heart ailments. You would be wondering how is that possible. Let’s dive deep into this oral and heart connection to understand better.
How exactly is it connected?
Numerous researches have shown a strong link between oral or gum disease that impacts heart health.
Before understanding this link, we have to know about the gums disease that affects it, Periodontitis is a gum disease in which the gums get inflamed while affected by a set of bacteria known as RED COMPLEX BACTERIA (namely p. gingivalis, t. denticola, and t. forsythia). These bacteria enter into your bloodstream and cause other systemic diseases.
A research study has been done and published in the Indian Heart Journal where the scientists have done ‘Molecular analysis shows the presence of periodontal bacterial DNA in atherosclerotic plaques from patients with coronary artery disease’[1] in this research they have found the same 3 bacteria in the plaque formation in the heart where the patients were suffering from coronary heart disease and were going for bypass surgery.
How to control it and save our heart?
Don’t worry you will be happy to know we can save our heart health by taking simple and proactive steps for our gum health like: –
- Maintain good oral hygiene (brushing, flossing, using anti-bacterial mouthwashes)
- By seeking professional help (scaling /cleaning or periotreatment)
- By maintaining regular checks on symptoms of gum disease (bad breath, bleeding gums, loose tooth gum pain, or swollen gums)
These small steps can help you to save your life and your heart will thank you!
