A study in Taiwan looked at those who have had professional tooth scraping and cleaning performed and found that they had reduced risks of stroke and heart attack.
The study showed that more frequent scraping/cleaning was associated with more reduced risk compared to never having teeth cleaned/scraped or occasionally having it performed.
The study looked at over 100,000 people and found that if either a dentist or dental hygienist scraped and cleaned teeth those people in that group had a 24% lower risk of a heart attack and a 13% lower risk of a stroke when compared to those who never had a dental cleaning performed. The people in the study were followed for an average of 7 years.
The study was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health insurance data base. One of the researchers was Emily (Zu-Yin) Chen, M.D., cardiology fellow at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, who stated
“Protection from heart disease and stroke was more pronounced in participants who got tooth scaling at least once a year.”
She went on to further address how tooth scaling appears to reduce inflammation-causing bacterial growth which can potentially lead to stroke or heart disease.
As discussed over at the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page located at http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html, it is important to see a dentist typically at least once or twice a year in addition to brushing at least twice a day and flossing at least once a day.
If you care about your long term health you should make it a priority to focus on your oral health and make sure you regularly take care of your oral health and visit your dentist.
The source of this study is over at the American Heart Association in an article titled “Professional dental cleanings may reduce risk of heart attack, stroke,” written on November 13, 2011, and located at http://newsroom.heart.org/pr/aha/professional-dental-cleanings-217760.aspx.
Really great dental blog. I enjoyed it all so far.