Here is exciting news and further proof that teeth and gum health is linked with our body health and should be a part of our health care insurance and patient education. Oral hygiene, health and disease go hand in glove.

According to the report by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich in the Jerusalem Post …” growing evidence that what is going on in one’s mouth can trigger or worsen systemic disease, and studies have linked gum disease to premature births, heart disease and diabetes. “

“…Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and University Hospital of Cleveland have found that treating pediodontal disease reduces arthritic pain, the number of swollen joints and the degree of morning stiffness. Their study appeared in the Journal of Periodontology…”

“Dr. Nabil Bissada, head of the school’s periodontics department …worked with Dr. Ali Askari, chairman of the department of rheumatology at the hospital. “It gives us a new intervention …should prompt rheumatologists to encourage their patients to be aware of the link between periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis, said Askari.

Both inflammatory diseases share similarities in the progression of the disease over time – the soft and hard tissues are destroyed from inflammation caused by toxins from bacterial infection. One toxin from the inflamed areas, called tumor necrosis factor-alpha, is a marker present in the blood when inflammation is present in the body and can initiate new infections or aggravate sites where inflammation already exists….”

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418611441&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

More later… Sharon O’Hara