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Bleeding gums can kill you
By Edward Martin on 10/16/2010
Minty fresh breath isn't the only reason to keep your mouth clean--good oral hygiene will also help protect your heart.
While that connection has been confirmed by repeated studies over the years, the reason for it hasn't always been well understood... until now.
Researchers say they've found the missing link between dental health and cardiovascular risk--and it turns out the same bacteria responsible for toothaches and gum disease are making their way right into your cardiovascular system.
The problem is the common Streptococcus, the same bacteria that put the "strep" into "strep throat."
These bacteria are present in the mouth more often that you might want to believe... in fact, they're almost certainly in your mouth right now.
Don't panic--because in most cases, they're harmless.
The problems begin when you let your dental health go to pieces. Bleeding gums offer these bacteria easy access to your insides. In fact, you can think of bloody gums as the entrance ramp to the superhighway of your circulatory system.
And these bacteria are only too happy to hop on and make a beeline for the express lanes.
Anyone who's seen what too many big trucks do to a highway can appreciate what then starts happening in your arteries: traffic jams. The researchers say the bacteria use a protein on their surface to force the platelets in your blood to clump, creating the clots that can lead to strokes and heart attacks.
And just to show you how clever these guys are--and why they're so hard to beat--the researchers also found that by causing the clots, the bacteria also create a suit of armor out of platelets, covering them completely and protecting them from antibiotics.
If that doesn't have you reaching for the floss and mouthwash, I don't know what will.
Streptococcus isn't the only oral bacteria that can put a stop to your heart. One study last year found that people with Tannerella forsythensis had a 53 percent increased risk of heart attack, while the presence of Prevotella intermedia led to a 35 percent increase in that risk.
That same study also found that people with the most bacteria in the mouth--any type of bacteria at all--have the highest risk, so the message is pretty clear: Keep your mouth clean and you'll have a healthier heart.
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Edward Martin writes House Calls, a daily letter chronicling the most cutting-edge alternative methods for beating diabetes and cancer, to the latest FDA foul-ups and Big Pharma conspiracies.
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Comments
rainliquid
So now that I have bleeding gums, what can be done to kill the harmful bacteria that has invaded my system?
Marten
Hello rainliquid, there are colloidal silver or colloidal zinc or simply hydrogen peroxide or mms......
Sadie
I have the same question: if we have bleeding gums already, what specifically do we do to control this bacteria (besides just brushing and flossing which I do anyway, but still have bleeding gums). Please don't leave us hanging!
John W.
Although I am no authority, (I have been rinsing my mouth with hydrogen peroxide for a week), oral hydrogen peroxide rinse makes sense to me. Consult Flood Your Body with Oxygen by Ed McCabe for details. I am taking nattokinase enzyme which is supposed to be a powerful clot dissolver. I am hoping any bacterial colonies will me more vulnerable for immune suppression or antibodies or oxygen therapy if the nattokinase enzyme is successful in dissolving their fibrin shields.
Anonymous
Hydrogen peroxide with give you a condition called. 'hairy tongue'..
it is too drying
Vitamin C is the cure for bleeding gums.
All the best to you.
lochner
I have been soaking my partial in hydrogen peroxide, and rinsing after brushing with hydrogen peroxide for at least ten years.
I do not have hairy tongue.
If you are serious about healing your gums, follow the hydrogen peroxide rinse with CoQ10 applied directly to the gums. Poke a hole in the capsule and bite into it. I do at least two 100 mg capsules every other day. No more pockets. This also makes receding gums grow back. Do this consistently and your dentist will be shocked and amazed.
vikingstork
It's good to know I have been killed many times over. In my mid-teens (when i swtill went to dentists), dentists told me that i would lose all my teeth by the time i am 40.
Well, now at 65, i still have all my teeth and no cavities, and my heart sounds clear as a bell. I never clean my teeth, except when going out, which i do very seldom. And no, i don't have a bad breath. Why, i LOVE TO CHEW, when everyone around me hates to chew, you know the proverbial turkey or chicken "that's falling off the bones". That's why humanity's jaws are degenerating, our teeth don't fit in our mouth. Nobody wants to chew.
Next reason, i don't drink anything sweet, no sugar in coffee or tea. I drink beer, or water. And eat apples, and more apples.
And my gums bleed here and there, wow, "now i am scared to death".
Sometimes (for me almost always) you have to take the experts with a grain of salt.
And maintain healthy diet (but according to mainstream experts) and lifestyle (but not according to mainstream experts) It's ignorant to attempt to disinfect your mouth, it will kill you before all the bacteria that is there normally.
vikingstork
I agree with "anonymous".
In post war Europe, people with bleeding gums used to rub half-a lemon or lime on their gums and teeth (maybe some still do), but now most will seek DRUGS OR CHEMICALS to disinfect their mouth which is foolish. For one, it can not be done, and you will destroy the healthy yeast in mouth, too.
Two, mouth has a flora just bowels. What is needed is to keep it balanced, just like bowels, by proper diet and life style.
Three, the drugs and chemicals will kill you before they kill the bacteria.
Bill Walker
Has no one heard of the sweetener xylitol? It is a powerful antibacterial and is used in Orbit chewing gum, which actually cleans your teeth better than a brush. Coconut oil also kills bacteria and other microorganisms but it is mighty expensive.
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