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Gum disease, stroke are possibly relatedDear Dr Reitz: My mother recently suffered a stroke. She was overweight for many years, and although she would enjoy her vodka tonic in the evening, she had no other vices that would have contributed to the stroke. My mom has always been afraid of dentists. Her concept of dental care was to have teeth extracted when the pain from gum disease became unbearable. I read a flyer in my dentist's office concerning a relationship between gum disease and heart disease. Could her gum disease have caused the stroke? Dear Reader: The relationship between gum disease and cardiovascular problems was brought to national attention by past Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. The word cardiovascular denotes the heart and all the arteries, veins and capillaries that transport blood throughout the body. Your mother's stroke may have been caused by a blockage of an artery that supplied blood to a part of her brain. Since a connection between gum disease and stroke was first speculated, many researchers have tried to determine the relationship. To this day there are many theories, without a definitive finding. What we know for certain is that as the severity of the gum disease increases, the risk of stroke also increases. Gum disease is an infection caused by bacteria that live on the surface of the teeth and in the gums. To kill these bacteria your body makes inflammatory cells. One theory is that, in the process of fighting your mother's gum disease, the inflammatory cells and their byproducts migrate and lodge in the lining of arteries of the body such as the brain. Your mother's need to have teeth extracted tells me her gum disease and associated inflammation were severe and protracted. Long-term inflammatory cells in a section of artery can lead to a blockage. A second theory is that the bacteria of the gum disease moved and set up residence in a distant artery. One study found in 44 percent of the cases, the bacteria that comprise a stroke victim's arterial blockage are the same as those in their infected gums. The bacteria in the artery then initiated its own inflammatory response that led to the blockage. Finally, it has long been known that some people inherit an increased susceptibility to gum disease. It is possible that these people are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease for the same hereditary reason. If that is the case, then gum disease is more of an indicator of stroke than a cause. The column is written by John Reitz, DDS, and does not represent the opinion of the Pennsylvania State Dental Board. Dr Reitz answers questions from readers. E-mail them via his Web site at reitzdds.com or mail to John Reitz, DDS, 30 Commerce Drive, Wyomissing PA 19610 John
V. Reitz, D.D.S., F.A.G.D. Copyright
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