The connection between healthy teeth and a healthy heart.

Healthy Teeth and a Healthy Heart Latest News....from My Brilliant Smile Dental in East Grinstead, West Sussex. 01342 325522

Caring for your teeth has never had so many benefits, not just being able to eat what you want, when you want. But also improved general health, no bad breath,a better social life,latest medical research also shows that your risk of a heart attack can actually double if you have periodontal disease. That puts periodontal disease in the same risk factor areas as cholesterol. Everyone knows that high cholesterol is a leading predisposing factor for heart attacks. So proper daily tooth care may actually prevent a heart attack or at the very least decrease your risk.

How Teeth Can Kill You
Periodontal disease is a severe infection of the gums caused by plaque, a sticky film composed of bacteria that have clumped together. Plaque continually builds up on your teeth. Get rid of it by brushing in the morning and by tomorrow more plaque coats your teeth.

Even brushing correctly will not remove plaque everywhere in your mouth. Toothpaste and toothbrush ads that claim brushing "correctly" morning, noon, and night will remove plaque are deceiving. They fail to really describe the "correct" method. So, in the places where it lingers, it hardens into tartar, which no amount of brushing can remove. That's where periodontal disease usually starts.

The plaque bacteria infect your gums, making them pull away from the teeth, causing perpetual bad breath, exposing the roots and making your mouth look, feel, and taste awful. Meanwhile, bacteria destroys the bone that holds your teeth in place, loosening them so that you eventually lose them.

New research now connects plaque bacteria to heart disease. Streptococcus sanguis clings to teeth with a tenacious glue, one and two cells deep. An even nastier sort of bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis, grasps that base with tough tendrils, building layers 500-cells deep. The infection these bacteria cause forms lesions in the surrounding gum tissue, introducing the bacteria into the bloodstream, where they set about their deadly cardiovascular mischief.

Plaque bacteria and heart attacks
The blood flowing through your coronary arteries feeds oxygen to your heart tissue just as other arteries feed the rest of your body. Cut off the flow of blood in a coronary artery, and the heart tissue it feeds begins to die.

Heart attacks occur when fatty deposits build up on the inside wall of a coronary artery, narrowing the passage - called the "lumen" - through which blood flows. As the lumen narrows, angina pains may warn that the heart tissue is not receiving enough oxygen. But even before that, a blood clot may get wedged in the narrowed lumen, suddenly shutting off all blood, killing the heart tissue that the coronary artery feeds. If enough tissue dies, the heart stops and you die. The result is a potential death from a heart attack.

Killer bacteria
New studies at the State University of New York, University of Minnesota, and elsewhere, show that Streptococcus sanguis causes dangerous abnormalities in the heart function of laboratory animals. It also produces enzyme that clumps blood platelets together to form blood clots. Porphyromonos gingivalis not only encourages the formation of blood clots that may clog a narrowed lumen, but it also encourages irritation of the lining of the coronary artery walls, provoking the fatty deposits that narrow the lumen. These killer bacteria almost certainly will enter the bloodstream of anyone who has enough bacteria-laden plaque to seriously infect gum tissue. That's why researchers now say that that your risk of heart attack doubles if you have periodontal disease.

How to Protect Yourself
Statistics show that about 50% of people in the western world over the age of 13 have some form of gum disease. In its early state, called "gingivitis," the gums are inflammed; they bleed easily, and start to pull away from teeth. Treatment and proper brushing can reverse gingivitis with no serious damage. If not reversed, the condition worsens into periodontal disease. About 45% of those over age 60 suffer from some stage of periodontal disease.

Why?
Antibiotic ingredients in many toothpastes kill some bacteria, which helps slow plaque formation. However, even the very best toothpastes do not prevent all plaque from forming. Once it builds up, toothpastes do virtually nothing to remove it. Even when plaque is soft, as it first forms, you can remove it by brushing in easily accessible areas. Since interproximal spaces between your teeth cannot be reached by a toothbrush or toothpaste alone (as ads make you believe) the plaque remains. This is where gum disease usually begins.

Remember that once plaque hardens into tartar, no amount of brushing removes it. Your dentist or hygienist must remove it. That is why it is so important to have your teeth checked regularly and to see the Hygienist if required.

An article in the professional journal, Dentistry Today, put it - "periodontal disease management requires the necessity of thorough daily plaque control."
But how can you control plaque when, as we said, "even if you brush correctly...brushing alone cannot eliminate plaque everywhere in your mouth"?

The two danger spots
Plaque forms below the gum line in a pocket called "sulcus," which extends from the top of your gums down to where the gum begins to adhere to the tooth. A health sulcus ranges between 2 and 3 millimeters in depth. Brushing "correctly" means inserting bristles into the sulcus to remove plaque. Chances are, no one has ever explained that to you. But even if your dentist or hygienist has explained it, doing it is not easy. This means you probably do not remove all sulcular plaque before it hardens into un-brushable, gum-infecting tartar. As plaque builds, the pocket deepens, making plaque removal even less likely with a toothbrush, which in turn means more plaque, which deepens the pock more - and so on. A sulcus 5-12 millimeters deep signals full-blown periodontal disease and the onset of bone loss.

And that is not the worst problem!

Plaque-forming bacteria reach every surface of every tooth in your mouth - including the surfaces in the spaces between your teeth, called "interproximal" areas.

Removing sulcular plaque is difficult. Removing all interproximal plaque is flat-out impossible with a toothbrush - again despite what the ads try to make you believe. That is true no matter how hard, how faithfully, and how often you brush. Even if you consciously attempt to insert toothbrush bristles between your teeth, they touch place at the wrong angle, merely sliding along it, lengthwise. They cannot brush or scrape it away. When you visit your dentist for cleaning, most of the time is spent cleaning tartar from these interproximal surfaces.

Enter the misunderstood hero...

If you floss, you probably imagine the purpose is to remove particles of food. Less than 10% of us floss regularly and effectively - and some authorities say that as low as 2%. The rest consider flossing superfluous, something "good little boys and girls" do that really is not necessary, given conscientious brushing. Using dental floss properly and effectively requires a dexterity many lack.

In fact, some forms of flossing are the only way you can remove interproximal plaque while it is still soft enough to remove, and before it causes trouble.

But even if used often and correctly, dental floss cannot do the job as periodontal disease begins to become more severe and advancing bone loss and gum recession occurs. This results in concave root surfaces and minute crevasses, which trap the plaque. The regular use of floss will never reach and remove plaque in these areas.

…You can get much better results using an INTERPROXIMAL BRUSH, which is dramatically easier to use and markedly more effective. The Butler and Oral B interproximal brushes feature small bristles like a tiny bottle brush. You can push them between tightly spaced teeth and wiggle the brush in and out. These bristles are positioned to brush away plaque regardless of tooth surface and architecture, reaching even into crevasses and concave areas. But speak to your Dentist or Hygienist first, they will demonstrate the use of these brushes to you and help you to start with a clean mouth.

Here in the U.K. the current regulations require you to see a Dentist before you can see the Hygienist. We have Hygienists here at our practice that can see you without waiting too long. If your Dentist has told you that you need to see the Hygienist but you are waiting a long time for the appointment, he can write a referral letter to us on your behalf. Our hygienist can then see you promptly without a waiting list and get you back on the right path to Health. you can then continue to see your own Dentist as normal.

So if you are waiting to see a Hygienist call us now on 01342 325522, all our Hygienists work on a Private basis as this allows them to dedicate their time in helping you, you only pay for the time it takes, no less and no more.Fresh breath, a clean sparkling smile and reduce your chances of developing periodontal disease and prevent predisposing yourself to heart disease.