Correlations Between Gum Disease and Other Diseases
March 18, 2007
I just saw an ad for Colgate Total that mentioned the recent research that has pointed out the relationship between gum disease and other ailments such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The Colgate commercial implies that gum disease causes other negative outcomes. But isn’t it possible that people who don’t take care of their gums also don’t take care of their bodies? It could be that a general disregard for physical health is the third variable that causes both outcomes?
Your comment makes a lot of sense, although in well-planned epidemiological studies, other factors (confounding variables) such as poor lifestyle are usually controlled for. For example, in one of the studies correlating gum disease with other health issues, both the gum disease group and healthy group were defined so that other factors like smoking, drinking etc, were the same in both groups.
The recent study linking gum disease with a three-fold increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer was a well thought out, credible study. It is impossible, however, to always control for all differences between the groups. While factors such as general health, economic status, smoking, alcohol intake etc, are taken into account, perhaps another factor accounts for the findings.
You are correct though. People who do not take care of their health are more likely to suffer from gum disease. Keep up your inquisitive thoughts!
Lynne Eldridge M.D.
Author, “Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time”
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
researchers are still trying to track the exact process of gum disease –> heart and other diseases, but they know there is a relation.
two reasons:
1) gum disease involves bacteria penetrating through the gums and entering the bloodstream, potentially infecting other organs directly (bad). have you ever been given anti-biotics BEFORE getting teeth pulled or any other dental surgery? this is typically the reason why (and not just to treat localized bacterial infections)
2) inflammation from gum disease is believed to trigger low-grade inflammation around the entire body, including coronary tissue and blood vessels, which have obvious implications for heart disease and stroke.
that’s all i got.