TROUBLE THINKING?
A new study suggested that good oral health care (brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist) may help aging adults keep their thinking skills intact.
Research has already established a strong association between poor oral health and heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, as well as Alzheimer's disease. Gum disease can cause inflammation throughout the body, a risk factor for loss of mental function.
The findings, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry this month, are based on more than 2300 men and women who were tested for periodontitis and completed numerous thinking skills tests as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III conducted between 1991 and 1994. Overall 5.7 percent of the adults had trouble completing certain memory tasks and 6.5 percent failed reverse subtraction tests. Participants with the highest (greater than 119 units) versus the lowest (57 units or lower) pathogen levels were most likely to do poorly in these tests.
A new study suggested that good oral health care (brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist) may help aging adults keep their thinking skills intact.
Research has already established a strong association between poor oral health and heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, as well as Alzheimer's disease. Gum disease can cause inflammation throughout the body, a risk factor for loss of mental function.
The findings, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry this month, are based on more than 2300 men and women who were tested for periodontitis and completed numerous thinking skills tests as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III conducted between 1991 and 1994. Overall 5.7 percent of the adults had trouble completing certain memory tasks and 6.5 percent failed reverse subtraction tests. Participants with the highest (greater than 119 units) versus the lowest (57 units or lower) pathogen levels were most likely to do poorly in these tests.
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