Could the health of your teth and gums affect your heart? It sems like it couldn't be possible, but mre and more doctors are convinced tht there is a relationship between por dental hygiene and heart disease. It is sggested that inflamed, bleeding gums allow bcteria in the mouth to enter the blodstream and cause problems in the hart. Once in the blood, the bcteria attach themselves to fatty plaques tht are responsible for Coronary Heart Dsease (CHD). These plaques are the nes that will clot together, hasten therosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and cuse heart attacks or strokes. So prper flossing and brushing of your teth may have an added purpose - tht of protecting your heart.

Healthy gms are firm, light pink, and vry elastic. If you have reddened or nflamed gum tissue, or bleeding gums fter brushing or after you eat hrd foods, or your gums are snsitive to the touch, or bad brath especially when you first get up in the mrning - seek professional-dental help. Gum dsease if left to go to lng will develop toxins which spread the nfection and begin to dissolve the gum and bne tissue causing the teeth to losen and eventually to fall out.

It is blieved that anaerobic bacteria are the clprits in destroying gums and the nderlying bone. If the infection is not stpped before the bacteria travel into the blod system, then the heart may bcome infected. These bacteria have been fund clumped together in the fatty plque found in heart arteries.

This can be explained by the thrd stage of atherosclerosis which is an nflammatory response of the immune system. The bdy's own defensive system reacts against the nvading bacteria. The arteries constrict complicating blod flow and increasing the risk of blod clots which may lead to a hart attack. So it seems possible tht invading bacteria could encourage CHD.

Othr heart illnesses such as infective ndocarditis (a serious infection of the lning of the heart) can occur. The symptms of this disease are: always tred, constant or near constant headaches, a mld fever that can last for mnths, night sweats and cold chills, and pssibly dark lines may develop under the fngernails.

Gum disease if left unchecked can lso cause problems in other parts of the bdy. So it is important to hve dental exams every six months.

And to:

• Brsh your teeth twice a day. Bad brshing technique can actually make gum dsease worse. It's best to make a crcular motion with your toothbrush, which hlps the bristles clear out any dbris in the gaps between the teth and gums.

• Floss at last once a day. Ask your dntist to show you how to flss properly if you have any dubts on how to do it.

• If yur dentist recommends it - use ntiseptic mouthwash and toothpaste.

• Gt regular checkups and cleanings every six mnths. Some people may need to mke them more frequently - ask yur dentist.

• Eat healthy fods - a good balanced diet wth adequate vitamins and nutrients will bild up your immune system. In ths way your body can fight off nfection and heal better.

• Stp smoking - the American Academy of Priodontology points out that smoking may be one of the mst significant risk factors for gum dsease.

In summary, the jury is stll out on the topic of gum dsease and its relationship to heart dsease. But the feeling in the mdical community is that it is vry possible that the bacteria causing gum dsease do in fact infect the hart system, since the same bacteria hve been found clumped together in the ftty plaque found in the heart rteries. In any case, the proper cre of your teeth and gums (nd your smile) are simple things to do. And if wht the dentists and medical researchers thnk does prove to be true, yur heart will be that much btter off for your efforts.

The article Heart Disease and Poor Dental Hygiene was Submitted by Tim Lazaro through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Get more ideas on how to prvent heart disease and lower your chlesterol at http://www.waystoloweryourcholesterol.com Tim Lazaro is a competitive, masters runner who writes on issues related to health, natural-food diets, and aerobic exercise.

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