News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Why You Should Never Skip Flossing Your Teeth. Parent comment

Re:Why You Should Never Skip Flossing Your Teeth by ahoyhere on Tuesday January 22, 2013 @12:37PM (#5098347)
Flossing isn't about your teeth so much as it is about your gum health. Nasties that get in your gums will get into your blood stream, and there's a high correlation between gum inflammation and generalized inflammation, even heart attacks. Some researchers even believe that inflammation that starts in places like your gums is a cause of heart disease, rather than just a comorbidity. This is not a very "out there" hypothesis, either.

Don't skip flossing just because you haven't had a bunch of cavities. Your teeth may be special, but is your heart?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why You Should Never Skip Flossing Your Teeth by riffraff on Tuesday January 22, 2013 @01:05PM (#5098547)
OT, but just to understand: are you referring to the Focal Infection Theory when talking about gum infections causing heart disease?

I ask because Wikipedia[0] believes that the theory is still quite "out there" but I'd be happy to learn from more up to date/reliable sources.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_infection_theory

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why You Should Never Skip Flossing Your Teeth by ahoyhere on Wednesday January 23, 2013 @10:32AM (#5103470)
I can't remember which book I read it in, but no, it wasn't about the focal infection, but rather the inflammation markers. Inflammation changes blood chemistry (blood cell mix, the "stickiness," and other chemical markers) and there's good reason to believe there's no such thing as "local" inflammation when it's an internal organ (vs, say, a rash on your elbow). And like circulating hormones in response to a grievous injury, these changes can cause a cascade effect.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why You Should Never Skip Flossing Your Teeth by MDS100 on Wednesday January 23, 2013 @04:11PM (#5105296)
Meh, observational data sucks. And the cohort studies (with treatments) don't seem to have been compared with a control group. Just before/after. Way more important to be lean and active.
[ Parent | on HN ]