We know that gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss for American adults. It also causes an increased risk for health problems, from heart attack and stroke to diabetes complications and low-weight births. But new evidence shows that periodotnal disease can impair mental function, outside of the established connection between gum disease and Alzheimer’s or dementia. The newfound link may stem from inflammation in the body that originates in the mouth.
The study, led by Dr. James Noble, involved 2,350 subjects of various genders who were tested for periodontal disease, then underwent a series of mental skills assessments. Adults over 60 with a high level of Porphyromonas gingivalis, a pathogen that causes gum disease, were three times more likely to forget a three-word sequence after a time lapse. The higher the pathogen level, the greater the potential for forgetting the sequence.
Published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, this US study by Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York relates periodontal disease to cognitive dysfunction. More research is necessary to support the findings. Read the Reuters press release here.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Periodontics of niles // Nov 18, 2009 at 6:03 am
According to Dr. Richard Crout, “If you have a gum infection, you’ll have an increased level of inflammatory byproducts. We’re looking for markers in the blood that show inflammation to see if there is a link to memory problems. We’d like to go full circle and do an intervention – to clean up some of the problems in the mouth and then see if the inflammatory markers go down.”
2 Periodontics of niles // Nov 18, 2009 at 6:03 am
According to Dr. Richard Crout, “If you have a gum infection, you’ll have an increased level of inflammatory byproducts. We’re looking for markers in the blood that show inflammation to see if there is a link to memory problems. We’d like to go full circle and do an intervention – to clean up some of the problems in the mouth and then see if the inflammatory markers go down.”
3 Rochester Ny Dentist // Nov 27, 2009 at 4:33 am
If this is true then I must say that it’s really frightening.
4 Rochester Ny Dentist // Nov 27, 2009 at 4:33 am
If this is true then I must say that it’s really frightening.
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