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Ha! That title got your attention, didn’t it? Well the answer is NO, plaque probably doesn’t have a kinder, gentler side– but we can learn from it! And what better way than to start creating a plaque catalog with all the different varieties available?

That’s what scientists are doing right now. Researchers in Canada have begun stockpiling plaque samples for study, believing that learning about plaque itself– and the various strains– will give us insight on identifying and treating the diseases that plaque can cause.

Plaque: not your friend

Plaque is the sticky conglomerate of millions of bacteria living in your mouth. And it’s not just the tiny unicellular bodies of each bacterium packed up against each other; the ingredients for plaque include biofilm which is an extracellular substance that bacteria create when they’ve reached critical mass in your mouth.

The trick with biofilm is that it protects the bacterial community. It helps them all stick to your new home, your tooth surface– or even worse, the hard-to-reach places between your teeth and gums. In addition to holding bacteria in place, biofilm wards of enzymatic advances from your saliva intended to loosen the bacterial grip on your mouth. It keeps bacteria in place.

But plaque has an ID too

Researchers at the Oral Microbiome and Metagenomics Research Lab at the University of Toronto are hoping to use a genetic “fingerprint” contained in plaque to help identify the different strains found in our mouths. This fingerprint is located on a strand of rRNA, part of the molecular machinery that keeps are cells alive, and each bacterial type has its own unique “type.”

The scientists want to start by identifying each sample of plaque based on its rRNA fingerprint and creating a catalog of the dental offenders– the usual suspects, if you will. They don’t need much plaque for the job; a sample the size of a pinhead is sufficient.

Future of plaque investigation

The researchers hope to use their plaque inventory to compare the plaque samples of people with specific diseases– say, kidney disease– with samples from a healthy person. Using comparative sampling, they plan on creating a map of health problems and related plaque offenders.

Armed with this information, dental researchers may be able to use plaque identification to treat certain diseases and monitor disease risk.

Compulsory public service announcement: prevention is the best medicine!

We can’t say it enough. Despite all the advances in dental medicine, there is no scientific discovery that can replace simple, thorough, preventative care. Daily hygiene should include brushing twice for two minutes at a time, and flossing at least once. This daily care needs to be supplemented with regular check-ups to your Portland dentists at Burlingame Dental Arts. When we see you on a regular six-month basis, we will always have a clear and up-to-date picture on your dental health.

Schedule your next appointment today!

Photo Credit: timtom.ch via Compfight cc

When it comes to dental health, a lot has been said about inflammation and the importance of minimizing it: inflammation of the gums, or periodontitis, has been linked with systemic diseases, and ongoing research is finding more connections yearly.

But what is inflammation exactly?

Two sides of the same coin

There are two different types of inflammation commonly recognized by health professionals: acute inflammation and chronic inflammation.

Acute inflammation is the inflammation you see upon immediate injury, like spraining your ankle or cutting your leg while gardening. Acute inflammation is an intrinsic part of a healthy immune system. In fact, it’s the first step in healing in your body healing itself.

When the body responds to an injury via inflammation, it’s doing several jobs: cleaning the site of injury, fighting any bacterial invaders that could cause more trouble, and beginning the repair mechanisms necessary for healing. Most of this work is done by white blood cells, or WBCs—your body’s “first responders.”

Signs of inflammation

There are 4 cardinal signs of inflammation which were first noted back when Rome was still the center of the world, and thus they have Latin names: rubor, calor, tumor, and dolar. In English, these signs are redness, heat, swelling, and pain.

Redness occurs because there is an influx of blood to the site of injury. Blood carries oxygen, WBCs, platelets, and other critical components of healing.

Heat is caused by the increase in blood, but also because cellular activity near the injury has gone up significantly; the result of increased activity is increased heat.

Swelling (which has the unfortunate Latin name of “tumor”) happens when the capillaries and micro-vasculature around the site of injury becomes more porous in response to chemical signals. The fluid in the capillaries spills into the interstitial space, causing swelling.

Pain is the body’s way of letting us know an injury has occurred and we need to do something about it. In inflammation, the neurons become especially sensitized and send pain signals up to the brain.

Chronic: a different story

So far, everything we’ve talked about has been about acute inflammation—which is a completely normal and healthy process. What health professionals worry about is chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is characterized by extremely prolonged inflammation and simultaneous tissue break-up and rebuilding. Cytokines, chemical messengers that signal the inflammatory process in the body, circulate systemically.

These chemical messengers are very helpful in instances of acute inflammation; they bring more help to the area in need. In chronic inflammation, cytokine influence goes awry. For instance, they could increase the permeability not only of capillaries at the site of injury but any blood vessel at all. If the permeability of coronary arteries is increased, fatty plaques could be allowed in, leading to stenosis of the heart’s vessels.

When the gums are chronically inflamed, your Burlingame dentist isn’t only concerned about the redness, swelling, heat, and pain your gums are probably experiencing—we’re worried about the effect that long-term inflammation can have on the rest of your body. As we’ve mentioned, the impact could be serious– from cardiac disease to dementia.

Preventative dental care stops your gums from contributing to chronic inflammation in the body. Oral hygiene—especially flossing—is the best way to keep your mouth and body healthy. Make an appointment with your Burlingame dentist today to learn more about how great dental health can keep the rest of you smiling!

Photo Credit: NTNUmedicine via Compfight cc

Considering that most people have been brushing their teeth since they were old enough to tie their own shoes, most no longer give the habit much thought. However, just because you’ve spent most of your life brushing doesn’t mean that you haven’t picked up some bad habits along the way that can contribute to the development of tooth decay and gum disease.

To help you avoid costly mistakes with your oral hygiene, here are five common toothbrushing mistakes that can help build plaque from the Portland dentist professionals at Burlingame Dental Arts.

Using the Wrong Brush

Despite how often you use your toothbrush- ideally twice a day- you’ve probably never given much thought about whether the brush you use is right for you. After all, most people decide on which toothbrush to buy depending on what brand is the cheapest. Unfortunately, to properly clean your mouth, you need a brush designed for you.

When selecting the right toothbrush, you need to consider the size of your mouth. Finding yourself needing to strain in order to open wide enough to fit a brush in your mouth probably means the head of the toothbrush is too large for your mouth. Whatever brush you choose also needs to feel comfortable in your hand. If the handle of the brush feels clumsy or awkward in your hand there’s a good chance it will cause you to use a poor technique when brushing.

Not Brushing Long Enough

The American Dental Association recommends you spend at least two minutes brushing your teeth at least twice a day. When you consider all of the various nooks, crannies, and crevices your mouth contains, you can see why it takes more than a few seconds to adequately scrub away built up plaque deposits and lingering food particles. However despite the ADA’s recommendation, studies have found that the average person spends 30 seconds on average brushing, or one minute total a day. Not nearly enough time.

To ensure you spend enough time brushing, make an effort to keep an eye on the clock and make sure two minutes pass before putting down the brush. To give each area of your mouth equal attention, try dividing your mouth into four quadrants and spend roughly 30 seconds brushing each one.

Over Brushing

While it’s commendable to take brushing seriously, you can actually damage the health of your teeth and gums by brushing too aggressively. Brushing serves as a way to remove harmful bacteria and food debris from your mouth, not as a way to work off a little stress. If you have a habit of brushing until your gums feel raw or start to bleed, you have past the point of helpful oral hygiene, and could be causing serious damage to the health of your teeth and gums.

Aggressive brushing can erode away tooth enamel, exposing the delicate center of the tooth to decay, and cause your gums to become irritated and inflamed, which can lead to gum disease. The best brushing techniques clean your teeth, while also keeping your gums and tooth enamel healthy. If you over brush, talk with one of our Portland dentists at Burlingame Dental Arts about improving your technique.

Start in the Same Place

In many ways, brushing serves as a mindless activity. Your hand moves back and forth as you shift it around to various points in the mouth. It’s only natural that after awhile you start to zone out when focusing on brushing, which generally means that you pay more attention to the areas of the mouth where you start brushing than the areas you finish at.

By starting in the same spot each time you brush, you run the risk of thoroughly cleaning certain parts of your mouth consistently, while inadvertently neglecting other parts of your mouth. Starting in a different spot each time you brush helps to ensure that you don’t neglect certain parts of your mouth just because that’s the are you finish brushing last.

Skipping the Inner Tooth Surfaces

Plaque builds up everywhere in the mouth, including the back of your teeth. By neglecting to brush the back of your teeth you allow plaque to cause just as much damage as if you didn’t brush at all.

Maintaining our health becomes more challenging as we grow older. This is especially true when it comes to protecting our oral health.

The team of Portland family dentists at Burlingame Dental Arts knows firsthand the challenges senior patients face with their oral health. Tooth loss caused by gum disease is common among patients over the age of 50, a condition that leaves 22 permanent teeth remaining on average (adults typically have 28 teeth, not including wisdom teeth). In fact, 10 percent of all adults in the U.S. over the age 50 have no remaining permanent teeth, according the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

Tooth loss in seniors is the result of a variety of conditions, ranging from gum disease to osteoporosis. While both of these conditions can seriously impact a patient’s oral health, researchers suspected that osteoporosis could contribute to the development of gum disease and tooth loss, especially among postmenopausal women.

However, a new study now suggests that postmenopausal osteoporosis is not linked with an increased risk of gum disease, but it does, however, significantly contribute to tooth loss. This suggests a need for better preventive dental care in patients suffering from postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Study Results

The results of the study were recently published in The Journal of Periodontology, where its conclusions were drawn from an observational study of 76 postmenopausal patients. The women underwent dental exams and had saliva samples taken for an examination of its microbiological evaluation. The women were also asked to give a history of osteoporosis. Researchers used process to detect the oral bacteria associated with periodontal disease, a severe form of gum disease.

Roughly 77 percent of the study participants with osteoporosis were detected as having periodontal disease.

This type of dramatic number helps to illustrate the need for senior patients to receive regular oral care, especially among postmenopausal women.

Portland Family Dental Care

To protect your oral health later in life, you need to schedule regular cleanings and checkups with our staff of Portland family dentists at Burlingame Dental Arts. Regular exams provide our dentists with the opportunity to spot the signs of gum disease early on before it can cause permanent damage to your teeth and gums.

Your oral health plays an important role in help you maintain your overall health. Take charge by receiving the kind of quality dental care you need to prevent gum disease and tooth loss.

Our Portland cosmetic dentists at Burlingame Dental Arts get a lot of questions from patients regarding the best practices for maintaining and improving their oral health. A common question many patients ask: Why is flossing so important to my oral health?

The idea that flossing is a vital part of an individual’s oral care has come under even more scrutiny recently as a number of news outlets picked up on a story published in the Daily Mail that called flossing a waste of time. The claims made by the article were even picked up by Fox News, leading one analysis to claim that any dentist who recommended flossing to patients did so because he or she had a stake in the “flossing business.”

This just goes to show the kind of damage erroneous stories based on faulty reporting can have on public perception. Unfortunately, an examination of the basis for the article shows some serious flaws.

The Daily Mail article claimed to have based its conclusions on a review published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology that found no evidence to support claims that flossing helps to lower an individual’s risk of gum disease. However, upon looking closer, the claims made by researchers shows the review actually concluded that flossing “seems to support the management of gingivitis.” So even if no direct cause and effect relationship was found that proves without a doubt that flossing lowers an individual’s risk of gum disease, enough evidence does exist that suggests flossing at least helps to manage gingivitis, a mild form of gum disease. This alone would make flossing worthwhile, even if the jury remains out on whether flossing provides even greater benefits.

Why You Should Floss

Our mouths contain hundreds of millions of individual bacterial strands. While most of this bacteria serves a beneficial role in protecting our health, some play a very different kind of role. Plaque – a sticky biofilm comprised of bacteria and food particles – grows on the surface of our teeth where it uses the sugars we consume to produce an acid-like substance that damages tooth enamel. When given enough time and allowed to build up in the mouth, plaque can cause serious damage to our teeth by increasing the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

While your toothbrush does an adequate job of removing plaque from the surface of your teeth, there are some areas of your mouth a toothbrush just cannot reach, such as between teeth and below the gum line. Floss on the other hand is designed to clean these areas of the mouth, and helps to remove plaque and food particles that brushing cannot.

If you don’t think that flossing can make a difference in lowering your risk of cavities consider this: the most common place for cavities to develop in the mouth is actually between your teeth!

Best Oral Health Practices

To enjoy the best oral health possible now and in the future, all you need to do is follow three simple steps:

1. Brush at least twice a day for two minutes at a time.
2. Floss at least once a day.
3. Schedule regular checkups and cleanings with our Portland cosmetic dentists at Burlingame Dental Arts.

That’s it! Follow these steps and you’ll both lower your risk of gum disease and tooth decay while also enjoy a great looking smile.

As a Portland family dental care provider, our staff at Burlingame Dental Arts wants all of our patients to enjoy not only outstanding oral health, but great overall health as well. While the weather has continued to warm, cold and flu season is running strong through classrooms, workplaces and households.

While nobody likes to get sick, a recent study has shed some light on the unrealistic expectations many Americans have when it comes to recovering from an illness. When symptoms of an illness, such as a cough, last longer than expected, many people start to become alarmed about their overall health.

De-Congested

As a way to study people’s perceptions about illness, researchers from the University of Georgia in Athens asked over 500 adult participants to state how long they believe a cough should last in a variety of different situations, such as a cough with a fever versus a cough without a fever, etc.

According to most doctors, a typical cough should last almost three weeks. Yet when asked that question in the study, participants stated they believed a cough should normally go away within five to nine days; less than half the time usually required.

As you can imagine from this data, researchers drew the conclusion that a significant disconnect exits between how long most people believe a cough should persist and how long it actually does. The findings of this study were published in the most recent issues of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Common Misconceptions

Researchers found that study participants who previously used antibiotics to treat a cough were more likely to conclude that taking antibiotics will always help treat a cough. However, antibiotics don’t help treat a cough caused by a cold or flu, as both illnesses are the result of a virus. Antibiotics only help to treat bacterial infections.

Researchers stated that it’s not uncommon for individuals who took antibiotics to treat a cough caused by a virus to assume the medication was effective at treating the illness when the cough actually just got better on its own. This misplaced application of the use of antibiotics has many doctors concerns about the potential of patients developing a resistance to the drug.

Still, there are some signs that do point to a cough being the cause of something more serious than a virus.

These signs include coughs accompanied by such symptoms as:

• Bloody spittle
• Fever
• Chills
• Body aches
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Sudden onset of symptoms
• Hoarseness

Additionally, individuals who suffer from a chronic lung disease such as asthma should always take a cough more seriously. Even though it’s normal for a cough to last for a few weeks, individuals should still always be on the lookout for potential signs of a more serious underlying illness.

Keep in mind that your mouth acts as the doorway to your body. Protecting your oral health by brushing and flossing daily – along with scheduling regular dental appointments with your Portland family dental care provider at Burlingame Dental Arts – you can keep your mouth free of oral bacteria that can contribute to illnesses all year round. If you have any questions about your oral health can affect your overall health, feel free to ask any member of our staff during your next appointment.

As your Burlingame dentist, our staff at Burlingame Dental Arts believes that every patient should know about any risks to their long-term oral health. After all, recent studies have found that individuals who suffer from poor oral health have a significantly higher risk of suffering from a variety of long-term chronic illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and dementia. Now a new study suggests that poor oral health could also increase an individual’s risk of throat cancer.

Researchers at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry have found a bacterial species responsible for gum disease – Porphyromonas gingivalis – is present in approximately 61 percent of patients with esophageal, or throat, cancer. Published in the journal Infectious Agents and Cancer, the study’s findings detected P. gingivalis in 12 percent of tissues located next to cancer cells in the throats of patients, while the bacteria was undetected in healthy throat tissue.

Links To Throat Cancer

The results of this study provide the first direct evidence that P. gingivalis infection could rank as a risk factor for throat cancer, and could even serve as an early warning sign for doctors that patients have an increased risk for this type of cancer, stated researchers involved in the study. If confirmed, researchers believe this data may indicate that the elimination of common oral bacteria could help to reduce the number of patients suffering from throat cancer.

A muscular tube that plays a vital role in the movement of food from the mouth to the stomach, the esophagus is lined with two primary types of cells, which results in two different types of throat cancers: squamous cell and adenocarcinoma carcinoma. The former is more common in the developing world.

As part of this latest study, researchers tested samples of tissue from 100 patients suffering from squamous cell throat cancer and from 30 healthy study participants.

Researchers measured the expression of an enzyme uniquely identifiable in P. gingivalis and for the presence of bacterial cell DNA found in throat tissue. Both the DNA and enzyme were significantly higher in the cancerous tissues of throat cancer patients than in the surrounding tissue of the healthy study participants. Researchers also discovered the presence of P. gingivalis correlated with additional factors, such as overall survival rate, metastasis and cancer cell differentiation.

Researchers identified two potential explanations: P. gingivalis prefer cancer cells to grow in or the infection of P. gingivalis helps to cause the development of throat cancer.

Should researchers confirm that P. gingivalis causes throat cancer, it would suggest that improving oral health could reduce an individuals risk of the disease. Screening for P. gingivalis in dental offices could help identify patients at a higher risk of throat cancer, and the use of antibiotics targeted to destroy P. gingivalis could help to prevent further development of existing cancerous cells.

The Risk Of Oral Cancer

Approximately 15,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with throat cancer each year, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As with the majority of cancers, there are a variety of factors such as age, heredity, diet and chemical exposure that could increase a patients risk for cancer. However, your Burlingame dentist remains hopeful that further breakthroughs like this recent study will continue to help shed the light on more early detection techniques that will increase survival rates for cancer patients everywhere.

As a kids’ dentist in SW Portland, our staff at Burlingame Dental Arts strives to provide our youngest patients with a solid foundation for their oral health. As they grow older and begin to develop their baby and primary teeth, parents need to ensure their kids enjoy quality oral health now so they can continue to enjoy healthy teeth and gums in the future.

Protecting your child’s oral health means scheduling regular dental visits with our staff of kids’ dentists starting at a young age. The American Association of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that a child first visits the dentist by the age of 1. Despite the need for early dental care, the average age for a child’s first dental appointment in the U.S. is roughly 2.5 years old, according to the results of a new survey.

Researchers involved in the study from Western University College of Dental Medicine cited a concern over the lack of urgency and parental knowledge regarding the need for kids to visit the dentist by the age of 1. Failure for a child to receive adequate dental care at a young age could increase his or her risk of dental decay, cavities, and premature tooth loss.

Kids Not Visiting the Dentist Early Enough

Conducted online, the survey was completed by parents of children under the age of 18 living in the U.S. The survey involved over 300 parents between the ages of 18 to 65 and focused on their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding kids’ dental care and preventative oral hygiene for themselves and their children. The topics covered in the survey included the age a child should first visit the dentist, the use of disposable supplies in the dental office, and the use of dental sealants. A second telephone interview was conducted among 75 study participants who at the time of the survey lived below the poverty line.

In the second survey conducted with low-income households, the average age for a child’s first dental appointment was 3.4 years of age, which is roughly a year older than the general population. When asked during the follow up why they didn’t seek dental care for their kids at a younger age, over 60 percent of parents stated they didn’t think dental care was necessary. Surprisingly, 15 percent of study participants reported having their pediatrician reinforce the belief that a child doesn’t need to receive dental care until later in life.

Also recorded in the study, 9 percent of parents reported being unable to afford dental care for their children, and 13 percent reported being unaware whether pediatric dental care was covered by their insurance.

Based on the existing recommendations issued by the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, a child should receive an initial visit to a pediatric dentist by 12 months. The AAP also recommends a child’s primary care provider perform an oral health screening by 6 months of age.

The Role of Your Kids’ Dentist In SW Portland

Pediatric and general dentists play an important role in protecting a child’s long-term health. Dental caries and tooth decay can negatively impact a child’s teeth as they develop. If left untreated, early childhood decay can cause premature tooth loss in kids. While it’s easy to think of baby teeth as disposable since they will eventually fall out on their own, they actually play a vital role in the development of primary, or adult, teeth.

Baby teeth act as space holders until adult teeth are ready to arrive. If a baby tooth falls out before its permanent replacement is ready to develop, neighboring teeth can begin to slowly drift into the space vacated by the missing tooth. This can cause crowding, crooked, or misaligned primary teeth to develop, which increases the risk of speaking and eating disorders, and the need for braces.

Parents can avoid these troublesome issues by scheduling regular dental appointments with their kids’ dentist in SW Portland at a young age while these types of issues are easy to treat.

A great looking and healthy smile is what every parent wants for their child. Don’t inadvertently neglect your child’s smile by maintaining a regular dental exam schedule for your baby, toddler, and adolescent.

To many of our patients, their cup of coffee in the morning is sacred. While your Burlingame dentist can certainly appreciate the many stimulating benefits offered by coffee, your daily cup (or three) of java also comes with an enamel staining price.

To image what drinking coffee does to the color of your teeth, just consider what the inside of your coffee cup looks like the next morning should you fail to empty it out over night. Simply swap out that porcelain mug for your pearly whites and you get the not so clear picture.

Of course, not all stains are created equal, and some individuals are simply more susceptible to tooth stains than other. This can explain why some people can enjoy a brilliantly bright smile while drinking three pots a day while others suffer from enamel stains even though they drink far less. (As if you needed one more example of life being unfair.)

The reason why some teeth stain more easily than others is due to naturally occurring irregularities in the surface of their enamel that allow stains to set in more easily. Excessive clenching and grinding habits can lead to fractures and cracks in tooth enamel results in a breakdown. These unhealthy habits make teeth more porous, thereby increasing an individual’s susceptibility to staining.

The Primary Causes of Enamel Stains

By now, most of us know that the primary culprits for teeth staining are items we consume every day: soda, red and white wine, tea, and coffee. However, there are a few other lesser-known foods that can also take their toll on the color of our teeth. Tomatoes and berries are known to stain, as well as specific brands of over-the-counter oral rinses that contain stannous fluoride, an ingredient found in most commercial mouthwashes.

So while a number of tasty treats can cause issues with the color of our teeth, giving up coffee to protect the luster of our smiles might be more than some of us can bear.

Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to help lessen the impact drinking coffee has on your teeth.

• Drink through a straw. By drinking beverages that stain through a straw, you prevent the liquid from ever making contact with your teeth.
• Add a little cream. Milk has a natural neutralizing effect on compounds that destroy tooth enamel.
• Brush or rinse immediately after drinking. While admittedly not a very tasty option, you can reduce the impact drinking coffee has by brushing immediately after you finish. If that sounds too unpalatable, try thoroughly rinsing your mouth out with water instead.
• Practice quality oral hygiene. Brushing and flossing daily help to strengthen your teeth against harmful substances that break down tooth enamel. If you practice quality oral hygiene habits daily, your teeth will become much more resistant to stains.
• Use whitening toothpaste. Whitening toothpaste brands can help remove superficial stains, like those made by drinking coffee, from the surface of your teeth.
• Contact Burlingame Dental Arts at (503) 246-8447 to schedule a professional teeth whitening or bleaching treatment. One look at the dramatic difference just a single teeth whitening or bleaching treatment can make to the color and complexion of a patient’s smile and you’ll quickly understand why teeth whitening and bleaching have become the most popular cosmetic dental procedures in the US. Learn More

Your SW Portland dentist at Burlingame Dental Arts knows of many different ways to predict the future state of a patient’s oral health, but the results of a new study suggest that your oral health may actually be able to predict a longer lifespan.

According to a study published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, the force of a man’s bite at the age of 70 may indicate his longevity. The risk of dying before reaching their mid-80s was 84 percent higher for men with a weaker bite than those with a stronger bite, claimed researchers. The association was significant even when know risk factors such as severe gum disease and tooth loss were included in the analysis.

While bit strength was indicated the lifespan of males involved in the study, researchers were unable to establish any such connection in woman of the same age group.

To explain this remarkable connection, researchers hypothesized that a low bite force could indicate musculoskeletal decline that can ultimately lead to disability and death. Senior men who receive little nutrients, minerals, and vitamins can also have their oral health impacted and have a higher risk of suffering from chronic disease, reported researchers.

Biting Down on The Study Results

The study involved over 550 Japanese participants born in 1927 who were already enrolled in a much larger study that started in 1998. At the beginning of the study, the participants underwent medical and dental examinations and reported personal information, such as smoking habits, chewing ability, and diet.

The participants’ maximum bite force was then assessed on both sides of the jaw at the first molar with a few seconds of clenching on a device called an occlusal force meter. The participants were then categorized into three groups, based on low, medium, and high bite strength in both sexes. Bite force is measured in “newtons” – the average bite force in the study was 173 newtons for the women and 261 for the men.

Following the recording of the individual participant’s data, researchers conducted regular follow-ups during the next 13 years. During that time, 10 percent of the women involved in the study died while 29 percent of the men passed away. Of the men who died, 37 percent who recorded a low bite strength died, compared with 22 percent of men with the strongest recorded bite strength, and 28 percent of men who recorded a middle bite score. There was almost no statistical difference between how many women died in each of their bite groups. Researchers suggest that could be due to the relatively lower number of female study participants who died in comparison to their male counterparts.

While researchers don’t yet know what the significance of this data may suggest, it does help to reinforce the notion that a lifetime of quality oral health helps to improve an individual’s overall health.

The Mouth/Body Connection

Over the years, a growing amount of research has shown compelling links between an individuals’ oral health and his or her overall health. Gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss have all been found to be risk factors for a range of chronic health problems that include cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer. Clearly what goes on in our mouths has a much bigger implication on our overall health than we might otherwise believe. Perhaps the results of this latest study just help to reinforce the notion that a stronger, healthier mouth means a stronger body overall all.

To make sure you enjoy the best oral health possible, don’t forget to schedule your next visit to see your SW Portland dentist at Burlingame Dental Arts.