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Flossing isn't about your teeth so much as it is about your gum health. Nasties that get in your gums will get into your blood stream, and there's a high correl
by ahoyhere 14y ago
Flossing isn't about your teeth so much as it is about your gum health. Nasties that get in your gums will get into your blood stream, and there's a high correlation between gum inflammation and generalized inflammation, even heart attacks. Some researchers even believe that inflammation that starts in places like your gums is a cause of heart disease, rather than just a comorbidity. This is not a very "out there" hypothesis, either.
Don't skip flossing just because you haven't had a bunch of cavities. Your teeth may be special, but is your heart?
- riffraff 14y agoOT, but just to understand: are you referring to the Focal Infection Theory when talking about gum infections causing heart disease? I ask because Wikipedia[0] believes that the theory is still quite "out there" but I'd be happy to learn from more up to date/reliable sources. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_infection_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_infection_theory
- ahoyhere 14y agoI can't remember which book I read it in, but no, it wasn't about the focal infection, but rather the inflammation markers. Inflammation changes blood chemistry (blood cell mix, the "stickiness," and other chemical markers) and there's good reason to believe there's no such thing as "local" inflammation when it's an internal organ (vs, say, a rash on your elbow). And like circulating hormones in response to a grievous injury, these changes can cause a cascade effect.
- MDS100 14y agoMeh, observational data sucks. And the cohort studies (with treatments) don't seem to have been compared with a control group. Just before/after. Way more important to be lean and active.