How to avoid heart disease: brush your teeth, say scientists
Here’s another reason to brush your teeth: poor dental hygiene boosts the risk of heart attacks and strokes, a pair of studies reported this week. Heart disease is the number one killer worldwide, claiming upward of 17 million lives every year, according to the World Health Organization. Smoking, obesity and high cholesterol are the most […]
Preventing Hospital Pneumonia Deaths
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — Hospital-borne infections are a serious risk of a long-term hospital stay, and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a lung infection that develops in about 15% of all people who are ventilated, is among the most dangerous. With weakened immune systems and a higher resistance to antibiotics, patients who rely on a mechanical […]
A Direct Connection
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 […]
Just Gingivitis
Well, maybe a little more than gingivitis… But so many people think it’s natural and normal for their gums to bleed. “I know I’m cleaning really well if I can make my gums bleed.” “Oh, it’s just gingivitis.” And to that I have to ask, Do your elbows bleed when you take a shower? Well, […]
The Missing Link Between Heart Disease and Dental Health
Sunday, January 04, 2009 For years there have been hints and hypotheses that heart disease and periodontal (gum) disease are associated or share common factors. Among the more humorous notions held by the uninformed press and public was that heart plaque and tooth plaque were somehow the same thing. That dubious notion notwithstanding there have […]