Healthy molars, healthy mind.
In case oral hygiene wasn’t important enough, brushing your teeth could help maintain both mental and dental health.
A recent study found a link between gum disease and dementia and other brain diseases, the Daily Mail reported. Previous studies had shown that bacteria-induced gingivitis can spread from the mouth to the brain.
“This is the first study to show an association between the imbalanced bacterial community beneath the gums and a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively normal older adults,” explains Dr. Angela Room of the NYU Dentistry School. She wrote the smart study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring.
Previous studies had shown a link between amyloid protein accumulation in the brain arteries and cognitive decline. However, researchers have yet to determine how that amyloid buildup causes the disease, which they now theorize could occur when gum disease prevents the body from removing these interlocking enzymes from the brain.
Researchers tried to prove the dental-mental wellness connection by taking both gum smears and cerebrospinal fluid samples from 48 healthy volunteers over the age of 65. People in this age group are at high risk for both dementia and gum disease – a cautionary tale for notoriously dentist-averse millennials.
They then measured their amounts of good and bad oral flora and found that individuals with more beneficial oral microbes had lower amyloid levels. These people, in turn, had a lower risk of contracting dementia.
“We found that having evidence for amyloid in the brain was associated with more harmful and decreased beneficial bacteria,” said Dr. Kamer. “Our results demonstrate the importance of the overall oral microbiome – not just the role of ‘bad’ bacteria, but also ‘good’ bacteria – in modulating amyloid levels.”
The next step is to set up clinical trials to determine if deep cleaning teeth can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
In the meantime, you can control the level of “cerebral plaque” by brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day with a soft brush, according to the American Dental Association.
This isn’t the first study to link oral hygiene with overall health. Researchers have claimed that harmful oral pathogens can increase the risk of everything from cancer to heart disease and even deaths from COVID-19.