DENTAL NEWS
The American Journal of Kidney Diseases has published the results of a study that found that older people who suffer from periodontal disease (a.k.a. gingivitis) twice as likely to develop kidney problems.
The study was conducted by researchers in Japan who followed 317 people, each 75 years old, over a two-year period and found that those with with inflammation of the gums were twice as likely to develop kidney problem as the rest of the people in the study. Inflamed gums are the most common condition associated with gingivitis and is the body's reaction to bacteria found in plaque that builds up on the below the gum line.
Previous studies have also linked periodontal disease with kidney disease. A 2010 study focused on people with both conditions and found that periodontal treatment also improved kidney disease symptoms.
This report comes on the heels of another report by researchers at Duke, Wake Forest and the University of North Carolina (Greensboro) which found that fewer adult Americans were toothless in 2008 than in 1999, due to both increase awareness about dental health as well as better access to dental care.
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