Health

Posted on 06:40 PM, August 23, 2012

PEOPLE who keep their teeth and gums healthy with regular brushing may have a lower risk of developing dementia later in life, according to a US study.

Researchers at the University of California who followed nearly 5,500 elderly people over an 18-year-period found that those who reported brushing their teeth less than once a day were up to 65% more likely to develop dementia than those who brushed daily.

Not only does the state of your mind predict what kind of oral health habits you practice, it may be that your oral health habits influence whether or not you get dementia, said Annlia Paganini-Hill, who led the study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Inflammation stoked by gum disease-related bacteria is implicated in a host of conditions including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Some studies have also found that people with Alzheimers disease, the most common form of dementia, have more gum disease-related bacteria in their brains than a person without Alzheimers, Paganini-Hill said.

Its thought that gum disease bacteria might get into the brain, causing inflammation and brain damage, she said.

Paganini-Hill and her team followed 5,468 residents of a Californian retirement community from 1992 to 2010. Most people in the study were white, well-educated and relatively affluent. When the study began, participants ranged in age from 52 to 105, with an average age of 81. All were free of dementia at the outset, when they answered questions about their dental health habits, the condition of their teeth and whether they wore dentures.

When the researchers followed up 18 years later, they used interviews, medical records and in some cases death certificates to determine that 1,145 of the original group had been diagnosed with dementia.

Continued here:
Health: Dental health linked to dementia risk

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