How Brushing & Flossing Can Help Your Heart
POOR DENTAL HYGIENE LINKED TO HEART DISEASE
A study suggests that without proper brushing of teeth and regular flossing, bacteria from plaque can escape into the bloodstream, where they can initiate blood clots and generally wreak havoc on the body.
Researchers stressed that people need to maintain good dental hygiene to help ward off blood clots and heart disease in general. The study showed that, once let loose in the bloodstream, Streptococcus bacteria cause blood platelets to bind together and completely encase the bacteria, protecting the bacteria from both the body’s immune system and from antibacterial drugs. This same process creates small clots as well as growths on the heart valves or inflammation of the blood vessels. Dental health may prevent the release of bacteria into the blood and therefore, these other heart-related risks.
The study was released September 9, 2010 at the autumn meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Nottingham, UK. It has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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