Practical Leaflets
Teeth and heart diseases
YOUR “HEART-SMART” TEETH …
You have to brush your teeth! This is the sentence which every parent is repeating over and over again to the children. And indeed, the effects of this day-by-day brushing are not only for prevention of dental caries. This gesture can save lives!
Regular brushing will protect your arteries and will limit the risks of cardiovascular diseases.
How to explain the link between dental hygiene ?
These dental bacteria, up to now regarded as being relatively harmless, could be much more toxic by creating inflammations of the arteries. Bacteria are said to be the enemy of our arteries. Indeed, there are numerous bacteria in our mouth. However, if you don’t brush correctly your teeth, these bacteria are proliferating and causing a gingivitis or a paradonditis. The bleeding which occurs can bring the bacteria into the blood-circulation. The blood clots can glue onto the walls of the arteries and so bloc the blood supply to heart and brain, thus creating favourable conditions for having a CVA.
Therefore, paradontitis has to be taken very seriously, because of a hidden, much bigger problem with the blood vessels.
Inflammated gums are a danger to your arteries
How to connect the infection by those bacteria to atherosclerosis ?
The link between the two phenomena is the inflammation. The bacteria could enter into blood circulation and so travel within the whole organism. The immune system would identify them as being an intruder and will lance a local inflammation of the arteries, their walls would swallow-up and thicken.
For arteries in good shape, brush your teeth
The best solution avoiding a proliferation of these bacteria is therefore a good dental hygiene, which will influence our cardiovascular health.
