Maintaining Healthy Teeth And Gums Is A Wise Investment

[Anonymous]

Faced with plummeting investments and an unsteady job market, many Americans are feeling the effects of the recent economic crisis. In fact, a recent study by the American Psychological Association found that over 80 percent of Americans rank money and the economy as significant causes of stress. And while chronic stress can lead to a host of health problems, including a weakened immune system and increased blood pressure, it can also take its toll on periodontal health. If left untreated, periodontal disease may result in even more serious, and potentially expensive, overall health complications.

Stress and Your Smile

According to David Cochran, DDS, PhD, President of the American Academy of Periodontology and Chair of the Department of Periodontics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, stress can make an individual more susceptible to harmful habits that negatively impact oral health. “Stress may lead an individual to abuse tobacco or alcohol, and to possibly even neglect his or her oral hygiene. These lifestyle choices are known risk factors for the development of periodontal disease, which has been connected to several other chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.”

A study published in the February 2009 Journal of Periodontology (JOP) confirmed that stress may interfere with oral hygiene. In the study, 56 percent of participants self-reported that stress led them to neglect regular brushing and flossing. In addition, the hormone cortisol may also play a role in the connection between stress and gum disease. Chronic stress is associated with higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol; previous research has found that increased amounts of cortisol in the bloodstream can lead to a more destructive form of periodontal disease.

“During periods of high stress such as what we are currently experiencing in this economic climate, individuals should seek healthy sources of relief such as regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, and getting adequate sleep,” says Dr. Cochran. “Doing so can help maintain a healthy mouth, and potentially help ward off other negative health concerns.”

Preserve Your Gum Line, Improve Your Bottom Line

Reducing stress in an effort to avoid gum disease may not only help sustain overall health, but it might also help your pocketbook as well. A study published in the November 2007 Journal of Periodontology found that preventing periodontal disease may be one way to help lower your total health care expenses. In the study, patients with severe periodontal disease had 21 percent higher health care costs as compared to those with no periodontal disease. Severe periodontal disease (periodontitis) involves bone loss and diminished tissue attachment around the teeth. And since past research has shown that periodontal disease may lead to other serious health conditions, striving to maintain oral health may help diminish the need to incur additional health care expenses, and ultimately help reduce overall health care spending.
“In these stressful times I encourage my patients to pay even more attention to their teeth and gums,” says Dr. Cochran. “And in turn, since preventing gum disease may help reduce overall health care expenses, maintaining a healthy mouth may actually be a stress reliever in itself.”

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

        

[drmithila]

The statement, authored by the American Heart Association (AHA) Committee on Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis, and Kawasaki Disease, found no conclusive scientific evidence that periodontal disease causes or increases the rates of cardiovascular diseases. In addition, current data do not indicate whether regular brushing and flossing or treatment of periodontal disease can cut the incidence of atherosclerosis, they noted.

"Recently, concern about possible links between periodontal disease (PD) and atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) has intensified and is driving an active field of investigation into possible association and causality," wrote the committee, which comprises cardiologists, dentists, and infectious diseases specialists.

"The two disorders share several common risk factors, including cigarette smoking, age, and diabetes mellitus. Patients and providers are increasingly presented with claims that PD treatment strategies offer ASVD protection."

For more than a century, doctors have proposed that periodontal disease leads to systemic problems such as heart disease. But statements that imply a cause-and-effect relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease or that claim that dental treatment may prevent heart attack or stroke are "unwarranted" at this time, the statement authors said.

"Although many … studies have suggested positive associations between these two diseases, others have not, particularly after adjustment for potential confounding variables," the authors wrote.

Whether an independent, clinically significant association exists between the two disorders remains "controversial," they added.

“Studies have shown that if you reduce the body’s inflammatory burden, you reduce the risk of heart attack.”
— Pam McClain, DDS, AAP president
"There’s a lot of confusion out there," said Peter Lockhart, DDS, co-author and professor and chair of oral medicine at the Carolinas Medical Center. "The message sent out by some in healthcare professions that heart attack and stroke are directly linked to gum disease can distort the facts, alarm patients, and perhaps shift the focus on prevention away from well-known risk factors for these diseases."

Association, not causality

The AHA committee members conducted a literature search from May 2008 to July 2011 in Ovid MEDLINE on the association between PD and any cerebrovascular, peripheral vascular, or cardiovascular disease. The search covered the period of 1950 to July 2011 and included clinical studies, systematic reviews, and animal studies. A total of 537 peer-reviewed publications met the inclusion criteria.

After analyzing and comparing the findings of these studies, the committee concluded that observational studies to date support an association between PD and ASVD independent of known confounders. Because this information comes mostly from observational studies, however, "it does not demonstrate that PD is a cause of ASVD, nor does it confirm that therapeutic periodontal interventions prevent heart disease or stroke or modify the clinical course of ASVD," they wrote.

In addition, while the data indicate a general trend toward a periodontal treatment-induced suppression of systemic inflammation and improvement of noninvasive markers of ASVD and endothelial function, "the effects of PD therapy on specific inflammatory markers are not consistent across studies," the authors wrote.

For example, PD and ASVD both produce markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein, and share other common risk factors, as well, including cigarette smoking, age, and diabetes mellitus, which may help to explain why diseases of the blood vessels and mouth occur in tandem, according to the authors.

Although several studies appeared to show a stronger relationship between these diseases, in those studies researchers didn’t account for the risk factors common to both diseases, they noted.

"Much of the literature is conflicting," Dr. Lockhart said, "but if there was a strong causative link, we would likely know that by now."

The ADA’s Council on Scientific Affairs appointed a representative to the AHA expert committee that developed the report. The ADA Council on Scientific Affairs then reviewed the report and agreed with its conclusions.

"Although there is a body of research showing that gum disease is associated with several health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, just because two conditions are associated with each other does not mean that one causes the other," the ADA noted in a press release.

Long-term studies needed

While several short-term studies have shown that periodontal interventions result in a reduction in systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, a large, long-term study would be needed to prove if dental disease causes heart disease and stroke, according to Dr. Lockhart. However, such a study isn’t likely to be done in the near future, and it’s most important to let patients know "what we know now, and what we don’t know," he said.

Robert Genco, DDS, PhD, a distinguished professor of oral biology and microbiology at the University at Buffalo in New York who has spent years examining the link between periodontal disease and systemic diseases, said that while he doesn’t disagree with the AHA statement, "it is not completely unrealistic to expect an association between PD and heart disease because of inflammation."

He contends that while causality is difficult to prove, the biological plausibility in this case — inflammation — is well-documented.

"We haven’t looked at whether periodontal treatment can prevent someone from dying of a heart attack as end point," he told DrBicuspid.com. "But we have looked at surrogates, such as reducing inflammation, and there is some correlation."

Pam McClain, DDS, president of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP), agreed.

"The conclusions of this literature review are not really any different than most other reviews," she told DrBicuspid.com. "The question is, does the evidence support an association between PD and ASVD? And in fact, it does."

“Periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease are both complex, multi-factorial diseases that develop over time. It may be overly simplistic to expect a direct causal link," Dr. McClain added. "The relationship between the diseases is more likely to be mediated by numerous other factors, mechanisms, and circumstances that we have yet to uncover. However, as the AHA statement points out, the association is real and independent of shared risk factors."

She pointed to a 2009 consensus report from the editors of the Journal of Periodontology (July 2009, Vol. 80:7, pp. 1021-1032) and The American Journal of Cardiology, which concluded that while a direct causal relationship between periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease has not been established, multiple studies do support two biologically plausible mechanisms:

Moderate to severe periodontitis increases the level of systemic inflammation, a characteristic of all chronic inflammatory diseases, and periodontitis has been associated with increased systemic inflammation as measured by hsCRP and other biomarkers. Treatment of moderate to severe periodontitis sufficient to reduce clinical signs of the disease decreases the level of systemic inflammatory mediators.
In untreated periodontitis, certain gram-negative bacteria may be found in periodontal pockets surrounding each diseased tooth and in approximation to ulcerated epithelium, and bacterial species found predominantly in the periodontal pockets also have been found in atheroma.
Thus, while the findings of the AHA committee do not support a causative relationship between PD and ASVD, Dr. McClain concluded, "studies have shown that if you reduce the body’s inflammatory burden, you reduce the risk of heart attack."

 

        

[Drsumitra]

Periotherapy is designed for people with periodontal disease or experiencing excessive bleeding gums. It is also great for controlling bad breath.

Take your time – in general the longer the toothgel can stay in contact with the damaged gum tissue the better.

How To Use This Product

Brushing:
Gently scrape your tongue with the tongue scraper, reaching as far back as possible. Then put some of the toothpaste on the tongue scraper and coat your tongue as far back as possible without gagging. Brush normally for 1-2 minutes, making sure to brush the roof of your mouth, the insides of your cheeks, and your tongue. When you feel like you need to spit, do so, but do not rinse with water.

Rinse:
Rinse with one capful of the Periotherapy Rinse. Swish the rinse thoroughly around your mouth.

Use Syringe:
Put some of the toothpaste into the syringe and squirt the toothgel into any pockets you may have in your gums. Let the toothgel stay in the pockets for up to 5 minutes

Rinse:
Rinse thoroughly with 1-2 capfuls of the Periotherapy Rinse, swishing thoroughly around your mouth.

 

        

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