When you first take a moment to think about your teeth and mouth in general, the heart may not be the thing that you would correlate to it. But for some time now, research has been suggesting that they are more related than they seem.
But wait, let’s backtrack a bit first and lay down some terms before talking more about research.
What is periodontal disease? According to the American Academy of Periodontology, periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease that affects the soft and hard tissues that support our teeth. For the regular person, it would suffice to basically know that there are two main stages of periodontal disease- gingivitis and periodontitis.
In its early and less damaging stage, periodontal disease is called “gingivitis.” In this stage, your gums would appear red and swollen- indicative of inflammation wherein your body is trying to fight off the bacteria adhered to plaque. Plaque is the sticky white substance you get on your teeth when you forget to brush your teeth for some time. Read more…