Does better gum health protect your heart?
Proper care for the teeth and gums may help lower the risk for developing heart disease.
Good dental care helps prevent gum disease. Gum disease leads to inflammation—the immune system’s attempt to heal injury. The chemicals produced by inflammation of the gums get into the blood. When they reach the heart, those chemicals may increase inflammation inside plaques of atherosclerosis in the arteries of the heart—thereby increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
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