User:Evb013/Tooth brushing

Many serious problems result from not maintaining proper oral hygiene. Not brushing your teeth causes harmful bacteria to build upon your teeth and gums. Robert H. Shmerling, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and his group of researchers conducted an experiment titled “Oral health and later coronary heart disease: Cohort study of one million people.” This experiment concluded that bacteria growing in your mouth can infect your gums and then can travel into your blood vessels. When gingivitis and periodontitis bacteria move into your blood vessels, it can cause inflation and damaged vessels. It clogs blood vessels, making it hard for blood to flow and can lead to blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. Although the study at Harvard Medical School has observed “remnants of oral bacteria within atherosclerotic blood vessels far from the mouth,” there are other factors including gender, alcohol consumption, diabetes, exercise, smoking, and family history of heart problems that could increase the risk of coronary artery disease as well. These factors make it hard to judge how much not brushing your teeth elevates your risk of coronary heart disease, but there is a proven correlation between poor oral health and coronary heart disease.

Batty, G David, et al. “Oral Health and Later Coronary Heart Disease: Cohort Study of One Million People.” European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, vol. 25, no. 6, 2018, pp. 598–605., doi:10.1177/2047487318759112.

[http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/gum-disease-and-the-connection-to-heart-disease Publishing, Harvard Health. “Gum Disease and the Connection to Heart Disease.” Harvard Health, www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/gum-disease-and-the-connection-to-heart-disease.]