Brushing your teeth frequently and long enough would reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation and heart failure.
It has already been proven that poor oral hygiene leads to the presence of bacteria in the blood, leading to inflammation in the body. The latter increases the risk of irregular heartbeat or atrial fibrillation and heart failure (the heart’s ability to pump blood or to relax and fill with blood is affected). Today, Korean researchers have looked into the link between toothbrushing and cardiovascular disease. According to their study published Monday, December 2 in theEuropean Journal of Preventive Cardiologya journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), brushing your teeth well would reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation and heart failure.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers recruited 161,286 participants aged 40 to 79, with no history of atrial fibrillation or heart failure. They underwent a routine medical examination between 2003 and 2004 where doctors collected information on their height, weight, illnesses, lifestyle, oral health, oral hygiene behaviors and their laboratory tests. During a median follow-up of 10.5 years, 4911 participants (3.0%) developed atrial fibrillation and 7971 (4.9%) heart failure.
After ruling out a number of factors (hypertension, age, sex, alcohol consumption or economic status), the researchers concluded that brushing your teeth three times a day or more was associated with a risk of atrial fibrillation of 10 % lower and at a 12% lower risk of heart failure.
“Intervention studies are needed”
Thus, if the researchers have not studied the mechanisms involved, frequent toothbrushing could reduce the number of bacteria in the subgingival biofilm (bacteria living in the pocket between the teeth and the gums), preventing them from travel to the bloodstream.
“We studied a large group over a long period, which reinforces our conclusions”, comments Tae-Jin Song, of Ewha Womans University in Seoul (Korea), lead author of the study, admitting however that this analysis is limited to one country. “It is certainly too early to recommend toothbrushing for the prevention of atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure,” he admits. And to conclude: “HASAs the role of inflammation in the development of cardiovascular disease becomes increasingly clear, intervention studies are needed to define important public health strategies.”
Indeed, more and more studies show an association between cardiovascular diseases and oral health. In October, American researchers notably established a link between tooth loss and cardiovascular disease. By analyzing data from 316,588 American participants, aged between 40 and 79, they noticed that the rate of people who were edentulous and suffered from cardiovascular disease was 28%. They also observed that those who reported having lost between one to five teeth or between six and more were more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
Brush your teeth at least twice a day with a soft-bristled brush
“If a person’s teeth are falling out, there may be other underlying health issues. Clinicians should recommend that people in this age group receive adequate oral health care to prevent diseases that lead to tooth loss initially, and potentially as another way to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease.” , note the scientists.
In France, health authorities recommend brushing your teeth twice a day using a toothbrush with soft bristles to preserve the gums and tooth enamel (to be changed every three months), with toothpaste fluorinated. The latter would indeed better prevent the appearance of dental caries. “Brush your teeth for two minutes, in order to clean the teeth well and allow the fluorine to act”, is it suggested on the health insurance website.