The bacteria in gum disease can enter your bloodstream through damaged blood vessels which run through the gums. This can increase the toxins in your bloodstream
- According to a recent study 2 kinds of bacteria breeding in dental plaque around inflamed gums can bring about "blood clumping". This is technically speaking the first step towards forming a clot that can trigger a heart attack, it appears that we should add "periodontal disease" to the standard risk factors like high cholesterol, lack of exercise, poor diet, and being overweight.
- The most noteworthy finding was that gum disease and poor oral hygiene are stronger indicators of risk of total mortality than were coronary artery disease.
- Studies show that the oral bacteria, "Streptococcus sanguis" does cause the clumping of blood platelets. This clumping can be the first stage in the development of a blood clot -- the cause of a heart attack. The periodontal infection would reduce the health of the lining of the gum tissues which, in turn, can allow bacteria from the mouth to enter into the underlying tissues (5).
- Patients with periodontitis have significantly higher levels of inflammatory products (fibrinogen and white blood cells) which are well-known risk factors for acute heart attacks.
- Dental bacterial components affect the body's response to infection and can play a role in the development of atherosclerosis.
- New development in medical research is further raising concerns that bacteria can cause heart attacks. One bacteria, "Chlamydia pneumonia" has been found in the walls of the blood vessel of patients who have had heart attacks.
You must practice proper oral hygiene to treat gingivitis. You should also cut back on any smoking and control your diabetes. Other treatments include deep cleaning your teeth, antibiotic medications, and surgery.
There are several techniques that can be used to deep clean your teeth without surgery. They all remove plaque and tartar to prevent gum irritation.
- Scaling removes tartar from above and below the gum line.
- Root planing smoothes rough spots and removes infected tooth parts.
- Lasers may remove tartar with less pain and bleeding than scaling and root planing.