Brushing and flossing... for brain health? A new study finds that adults who are genetically prone to have cavities, dentures and missing teeth are also more likely to show signs of declining brain health.
THURSDAY, Feb. 2, 2023 -- Taking good care of your teeth -- brushing, flossing, regular dental checkups -- is, of course, important for good health. Now researchers say it's also vital for brain health.
“Oral health is a quite easy to modify risk factor. It's one of the easiest. We just have to take better care of our oral health and it's not very costly or complicated,” said study co-author Dr. Cyprien Rivier, a postdoctoral fellow in neurology at Yale School of Medicine. Rivier's team analyzed the potential link between oral health and brain health using data from the U.K. Biobank. The study included 40,000 adults without stroke history who were assessed between 2014 and 2021.
The study found that people with a tendency for cavities, missing teeth and dentures had a 24% increase in the amount of white matter hyperintensities.White matter hyperintensities typically accumulate silently over decades and have been strongly correlated with future stroke risk and future dementia risk, noted Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran, a professor of neurology at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He was not involved in this study.
As for the link between the mouth and brain health, it's possible that poor oral health creates low-grade inflammation in the body that then affects the lining of the blood vessels, Prabhakaran said. This may lead to cholesterol plaque buildup or micro clots.
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