What on earth do your teeth have to do with your heart health?! Tune in to today's Tuesday Tooth Talk to find out more from Dr. Kuiper about how "...bacteria actually get into your bloodstream, and can get down into your heart."

Today we are going to talk about the connection between heart disease and your oral health and how those two impact each other. Increasing amounts of studies are coming out about the connection between what’s going on in the mouth and what’s going on in the heart. There is a large correlation between periodontal disease, infection in the gums, and your heart. The bacteria that grow in your mouth naturally and keep your mouth healthy, those bacteria can get into the bloodstream and travel to your heart. They form colonies or clusters on the heart valves which causes all sorts of heart issues. Those colonies can break off and travel to other parts of the body where they cause infection. They can cause infections in your heart and other large amounts of damage in a very short amount of time. Once this process has begun, it often requires a surgical intervention in order to get that taken care of. The best way to  prevent that is to come in and have regular professional cleanings to maintain the health of your teeth, gums, and mouth. Getting any necessary dental treatment taken care will also help dramatically such as getting rid of any active infection and taking care of any present decay. It may not seem like a big deal to have an abscessed tooth that has been draining for a long time but those bacteria in your mouth have access to the rest of your body. We don’t want to leave that infection and bacteria in there. Just like you wouldn’t want an active infection anywhere else, you certainly don’t want infection in your mouth either, especially when you’re dealing with something as important as your heart.

If you have questions, we’d love to help! Please give us a call!

Find us on YouTube!