December 19, 2008 (Milan, Italy) – For the first time, researchers have
shown that treating mild to moderate gum disease in otherwise healthy
volunteers improves endothelial dysfunction and significantly reduces
carotid intima media thickness (IMT), as measured by echo Doppler. The
report by Dr Stefania Piconi (Hospital Luigi Sacco, Milan, Italy) and
colleagues was published online December 12, 2008 in the FASEB Journal
[1].

“The novelty of this study is that this is the first physical evidence
that you can reverse a lesion that is already growing in the intima by
doing something as simple as taking care of your gums,” immunologist and
senior author Dr Mario Clerici (University of Milan, Italy) told heartwire. “To tell you the truth, we were really surprised by the result,but it turned up in subject after subject.”www.medscape.com/viewarticle/585635

What this means is that treating gum disease has a beneficial effect on the health of the inside of your arteries.  That’s BIG!