Preliminary information from a US study indicates that poor oral hygiene may increase the risk of stroke.
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The results will be presented February 8-10 in Dallas at the International Stroke Conference presented by the American Stroke Association.
However, some details are awaited, said study author Cyprien Rivier, a postdoctoral fellow in neurology at Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut.
“What is unclear is whether poor oral health affects the functional state of a person’s brain,” he said in a statement released by Heart Attack And Stroke Symptoms. We are now able to understand better using tools such as magnetic resonance imaging.”
“The study of oral health is particularly important because poor oral health is common and is an easily modifiable risk factor – anyone can effectively improve their oral health with minimal time and effort. financial investment, he added. […] Poor oral health can lead to lower brain health, so we need to be very careful regarding our oral hygiene, as it has implications far beyond the mouth.”
However, further studies will be required to assess the impact of hygiene measures, he said.
In particular, the data from the study led to the conclusion that people genetically predisposed to cavities, missing teeth or requiring dental prostheses had a higher risk of cerebrovascular disease.
Individuals with genetically poor overall oral health had increased brain damage.
Between 2014 and 2021, researchers in this study analyzed the potential link between oral health and brain health in approximately 40,000 adults. The average age of the participants was 57 years old and 46% of them were men.
