2023-07-11 16:45:56
Taking good care of your teeth may be linked to better brain health, according to a recent study published in the Medical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study found that gum disease and tooth loss were associated with brain shrinkage in the hippocampus, which plays a role in memory and Alzheimer’s disease.
“Tooth loss and periodontal disease, which is inflammation of the tissues around the teeth that can cause retraction of the gums and loosening of the teeth, is very common, so assessing the potential link to dementia is very important,” said study author Satoshi Yamaguchi. “Our study found that these conditions may play a role in the health of the brain region that controls thinking and memory, giving people another reason to take better care of their teeth.”
The study included 172 people with an average age of 67 who had no memory problems at the start of the study. Participants underwent dental exams and took memory tests at the start of the study. They also took brain scans to measure the size of the hippocampus at the start of the study and once more four years later.
For each participant, the researchers counted the number of teeth and examined them for periodontal disease by looking at the depth of the periodontal examination and measuring the periodontal tissue.
The researchers found that the number of teeth and the amount of gum disease were associated with changes in the left hippocampus of the brain. and that for people with mild periodontal disease, having fewer teeth was associated with a faster rate of brain contraction in the left hippocampus.
However, for people with more severe gum disease, having more teeth is associated with a faster rate of brain shrinkage in the same area of the brain.
The researchers also found that for people with mild periodontal disease, an increase in the rate of brain shrinkage due to missing teeth corresponded to nearly a year of brain aging. Conversely, for people with severe periodontal disease, the increase in brain shrinkage due to one more tooth was equivalent to 1.3 years of brain aging.
“These findings highlight the importance of maintaining dental health, not just retaining teeth,” Yamaguchi said. The results indicate that the retention of teeth with severe periodontal disease is associated with brain atrophy.
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