Brush Your Teeth! Study Shows it Will Decrease Your Risk of Heart Disease

How many times when you were growing up did your Mom tell you to "Brush your teeth"? Well, Mom was right, and if you developed this healthy habit you may be improving your chances not to develop heart disease.

Researchers that are always seeking connections between everyday lifestyles and its effect on our health, have found that a person that does not brush as regularly as he should can have an increased risk of having a heart attack. In some cases as as high as 70% higher than people that brush regularly.

To decrease your risk of heart disease you should brush your teeth twice a day

A study that was published In the British Medical Journal and included 11,000 people, discovered that failing to brush twice a day increased their risk for heart disease.

Earlier studies have shown the relationship between poor dental hygiene and gum disease and inflammation that can travel throughout the body and into the heart. We already know that inflammation is a known risk factor of heart disease. But this current study is actually the first of its kind, studying the relationship between tooth brushing and heart disease.

Good dental hygiene is linked to heart health

Included in the data of this study were lifestyle habits such as smoking, level of exercise and dental health habits including how often they visited the dentist and how often they brushed their teeth.

The data showed that 62% of the study group went to the dentist every six months and 71% brushed their teeth twice daily. After taking into consideration their lifestyle habits and demographics including family history of heart disease a startling revelation came to light. If you don't brush your teeth at least twice a day you increase your risk factor for heart disease by 70%!

People that brush their teeth less regularly increase their heart disease risk by 70%!

It was also noted that these people tested positive for fibrinogen and C-reactive protein which are blood markers for chronic inflammation.

It seems obvious that dental hygiene is important to our overall health. This study definitely supports our need to maintain our teeth and good oral hygiene. However, in this world of fast food, concentrated processed sweetened foods and hectic lifestyles it is more and more of a challenge not to take our teeth for granted.

The challenge is all the more difficult because fast paced living and poor diet contributes to obesity and heart disease on their own. Then adding in poor dental hygiene and the situation is much worse.

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women worldwide

Unfortunately, heart disease is the leading cause of death of men and women in the USA and the world over. It affects both genders equally. The medical professionals have always told us to control the risk factors we can, such as our weight, cholesterol, exercise, diet and reducing stress. Well now it seems we must include brushing our teeth. So remember, listen to your mother.

Sources:

Web MD

Healthy Theory

British Medical Journal