Brushing your teeth can also clean your blood vessels

A new study reminds that healthy teeth are also beneficial to cardiovascular health.

When plaques are deposited in the blood vessels, the arterial lining will gradually thicken and the lumen will narrow, a process known as "atherosclerosis". This process is also the main factor leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke.

A review called the Oral Infection and Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology Study followed 420 adults on a regular basis. During the three-year study period, the researchers observed that when a person's oral and periodontal health improved, including regular brushing, flossing, regular dentist visits, and teeth cleaning, the thickness of the arterial lining would be reduced by about 0.1 mm. Previous studies have shown that if the thickness of the carotid artery intima increases by 0.1 mm in 3 years, the risk of coronary artery disease will increase by 2.3 times.

The study said that this result is the first to confirm that "reducing oral bacteria can directly slow down and prevent the process of atherosclerosis." The researchers speculate that oral bacteria may cause atherosclerosis in a variety of ways. On the one hand, bacteria in the mouth may directly damage blood vessels; on the other hand, when the oral cavity is unhygienic, the body's immune response is aggravated, and the inflammatory factors in the body increase, which will also "attack" the arterial lining. because

Therefore, researchers suggest that timely improvement of periodontal and oral health and removal of oral "garbage" such as dental plaque and tartar can effectively reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria, which is equivalent to "brushing away" harmful substances in the blood vessels.