- antidepressants
- certain heart medications
What Are The Consequences?
In addition to losing your charming smile, gum disease can put you at an increased risk for developing a number of serious health conditions. Among them:
Heart Disease
People who have gum disease are twice as likely to develop coronary artery disease as their healthy-mouthed counterparts. While the exact cause of this is still being debated, one popular theory is that the harmful bacteria that build up in the mouth to cause the gum disease can enter the bloodstream and attach to plaques in the blood vessels.
This is no small matter – the inflammation that the bacteria cause significantly increases your risk for developing life-threatening blood clots and/or heart attacks. Other research has indicated that gum disease is linked with an increased risk for strokes.
Another heart condition, endocarditis, may be linked to gum disease. This condition is caused by bacteria from other parts of the body entering the bloodstream and lodging themselves on damaged areas of the endocardium, or inner lining of the heart.
Breathing Problems
Because gum disease sends your immune system into overdrive to manage the invading bacteria in the mouth, your body may not be able to fight off other infections as effectively. And according to the Journal of Periodontology, research has shown that gum disease has been linked with an increased risk for developing serious lung infections, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia.