Boise Dentist Blog

The professional blog of Doctors Dan Bruce, Steve Bruce, Rosa Pothier and Rob Ririe

Healthy mouth = healthy body (The proof)

Healthy mouth = healthy body (The proof)

There have been a number of potential links between oral hygiene and general health.  This blog post is a report of a health survey in Scotland that looked at the link between oral hygiene and cardiovascular disease events.  The survey was of 11,869 men and women with an average age of 50.  The survey then measured cardiovascular disease events and the self-reported frequency of tooth brushing. 

The results positively correlated poor oral hygiene with a higher risk for a cardiovascular disease event.  Also, those with poor oral hygiene had increased levels of C reactive protein and fibrinogen, which are both markers of cardiovascular disease risk. 

In short, brushing your teeth daily does decrease the chances a person will have a cardiovascular disease event. 

Here is the link to the published survey: http://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c2451.full