To fight dementia, take care of your mouth

As the first effective preventive measure against oral pathology, brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes is recommended by the French Union for Oral Health. Recent studies have confirmed that poor oral hygiene can increase the risk of dementia.

“Most reviews consistently conclude on the role of the oral microbiome (ecosystem of oral microorganisms) in dementia. Evidence comes from both animal and human studies. An association between periodontitis (one of the major gum diseases in adults) and dementia has also been regularly reported in previous reviews.

“, assures Chia-Shu Lin, professor of dentistry, quoted by Newsweek.

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Take care of your mouth

“We can’t say, ‘Oh, if you get periodontitis, you’ll get Alzheimer’s.’ But now we know that if you have severe periodontitis, your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease is higher.“, says Anita Visser, professor of geriatric dentistry at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Obviously, brushing your teeth will not guarantee the absence of dementia but experts encourage the population to take care of their oral hygiene. Dental.

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If poor oral hygiene can promote dementia, it can also exacerbate an already established disease. “Alzheimer’s disease patients will have difficulty brushing their teeth, further deteriorating oral health and cognitive function. Such deterioration in self-care behavior can induce a “vicious cycle” that typically exacerbates already poor health.

“, explains Chia-Shu Lin, quoted by the New York Post.

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