According to Healthline - Brushing your teeth regularly and taking care of your oral health can ward off high blood pressure, according to new research. A study of more than 36,500 elderly women found that those who had lost their teeth were 20 percent more likely to develop the disease.
Improving dental hygiene may reduce the risk of a serious disorder that affects more than a quarter of adults, according to scientists, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes, dementia and other potentially fatal diseases.
One possible explanation for the link is that as people lose teeth, they may change their diets to softer, more processed foods so that they chew less, and thus decrease blood flow.
These changes in eating patterns may be associated with more cases of hypertension.
Professor Jean Wactawski-Wende of Buffalo University in New York said, "These findings suggest that tooth loss may be an important factor in the development of hypertension."
The study, published in the American Journal of Hypertension, follows a series of previous research linking gum disease to high blood pressure. Now, in one of the most comprehensive surveys to date, Dr. Wactawski-Wende and colleagues have followed postmenopausal women in the U.S. for 18 years.
Participants in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study were followed annually after the initial gum health assessment in 1998 through 2015.
The researchers identified a significant connection.
Wactawski-Wende said the study suggests that older postmenopausal women who are losing their teeth may represent a group at higher risk for high blood pressure.
Her team said that better dental hygiene among this group - as well as preventive measures such as closer blood pressure monitoring, diet modification, physical activity and weight loss - may protect them.
The results also indicate that tooth loss can serve as a clinical warning sign for the development of hypertension - offering the chance to nip it in the bud.
It is believed that bacteria in the gums can enter the bloodstream and pass into other parts of the body - causing inflammation.
About 80% of people over the age of 55 have evidence of gum disease. 40% of people between the ages of 65 and 74 have fewer than 21 of their original teeth - half of whom reported gum disease before they lost their teeth.
Experts advise people to brush their teeth twice a day - and floss regularly.
Content created and supplied by: Trendyhealth (via Opera News )
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