Why brushing your teeth can improve your heart health

How your at-home brushing routine could help prevent heart disease

At Wickham Terrace Dental, naturally our team are big believers in the value of maintaining a good quality oral hygiene routine at home.

Along with the obvious benefits of fresher breath and a reduced risk of tooth decay, it seems that a good tooth brushing technique could bring you more unexpected health bonuses.

A new study suggests that brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes may actually lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Study reinforces the link between oral health and overall health

The American Heart Association carried out the study, which evaluated 682 people and their  tooth-brushing technique. The researchers found that those people who brushed less than twice a day, for less than two minutes each time, had a three times higher risk of heart disease or heart attacks.

Wickham Terrace Dental’s principal dentist Dr Andrew Teakle said he’s not surprised by the study’s findings.

“We’ve understood for a while that the human body is a complete system, and that there’s a pretty clear link between gum disease and other serious illnesses,” Dr Teakle said. “The risk of having heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and even cancer can be exacerbated by poor gum health.”

“So I’m not surprised they’ve found that skipping brushing your teeth can directly affect your heart health,” he said.

Yet it’s not all bad news, Dr Teakle insists. “I think the reverse is also true – that if you are very attentive to your dental health, it’s likely that you’ll take care of other aspects as well.”

“That’s what we encourage you to do – reduce your sugar intake, exercise regularly, and make sure you brush thoroughly twice a day and floss every day,” Andrew said. “Oh, and certainly we’d like you to come in and visit us at Wickham Terrace Dental twice a year!”

Brush your teeth and clean up your heart health

The Wickham Terrace Dental team will be keeping a close eye on future studies around the relationship between healthy mouths and healthy hearts.

For more advice on the best ways to maintain your oral health at home, get in touch with us online or call 3831 3031 today.