A top heart doctor is urging people to make two simple habits part of their daily routine, and it’s probably not what you’d expect. According to cardiologist Dr Jeremy London, brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day could seriously lower your risk of heart disease and potentially even save your life.
In a video that’s got people rethinking their dental hygiene, Dr London said: “Brushing and flossing your teeth can decrease your risk of heart disease by 10 to 12%.” It’s not just about keeping your breath fresh – poor oral hygiene can lead to gum disease, and that’s where the danger starts, reported Surrey Live.
He explained that gum disease can spark infections that cause inflammation throughout the body. “This can lead to infection, which does two things. It increases whole body inflammation and in severe cases, can actually seed the bloodstream with bacteria,” he warned.
It turns out, chronic inflammation is a major factor in hardening of the arteries, known as atherosclerosis, which is a key cause of heart attacks and strokes. And if bacteria from your mouth get into your bloodstream and reach your heart valves, it can cause a life-threatening infection that may end up needing open-heart surgery to fix.
“Now, remember heart disease is the number one killer of men and women worldwide, taking over 19 million lives per year,” Dr London added. His message was blunt but clear: “So get the easy stuff right. Brush and floss your teeth twice a day and see your dentist twice a year.”
Backing him up is Dr Souvik Sen, Chair and Professor of Neurology at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He led a long-term study that followed 6,278 people over 25 years, looking into how often they flossed and how that affected their stroke risk.
And the results were eye-opening. Those who flossed just once a week had a 22% lower risk of ischemic stroke – the type caused by blocked blood flow to the brain – and a whopping 44% lower risk of cardioembolic stroke, which is linked to heart conditions like irregular heartbeat.
Dr Sen said, “In this study, we found a specific association with ischemic stroke… the risk for ischemic stroke was tied to the cardioembolic type of strokes, although there was some association with the hardening kind or thrombotic kind of stroke as well.”
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