What is Gum Disease, Really?
Dr. Lee Ostler
Dec 19, 2016
Gum disease is one of the more common diseases on the planet. Not only is it the leading cause of bad breath and tooth loss (as if that wasn’t bad enough) it is now strongly linked with life-threatening health problems like heart attacks and stroke, Alzheimer’s and dementia, diabetes, cancer, lung and kidney disease, to name a few.
Gum disease is an infection of the gum tissue surrounding your teeth. When bacteria (biofilm) grows around your teeth it provokes an immune reaction that causes inflammation in the gums and bone, and pours bacteria and their toxins into your blood stream. These in turn stimulate the production of proteins within the body which can cause damage to your blood vessels, resulting in heart attacks and strokes.
If you have diabetes, or have metabolic syndrome and are insulin resistant (pre-diabetes), gum disease can make diabetes worse. It also works in the opposite direction where diabetes makes gum disease worse as well (a double-edged sword).
Bottom line is that it is NEVER a good thing to have gum disease!
Nor any degree of gum bleeding. Ever!
To be healthy, you must have a zero tolerance for bleeding!
Modern diagnostic and treatment techniques include bacterial DNA testing (to determine the type of bacteria involved) and specially designed protocols for eradicating the bad bacteria in the mouth. This helps to protect your good health – not only in your mouth but also your heart, your brain, and your body.
