Professional teeth cleaning ‘helps to protect heart’

Posted by Joanne Mellor

New research has found that people who get their teeth professionally cleaned at the dentist at least once a year are cutting their chances of a heart attack by almost a quarter.

They were also discovered to be 13 per cent less likely to be affected by a stroke, reports the Daily Mail.

Lead researcher Emily Chen from the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, who presented the study’s findings at the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions conference in Florida, said: “Protection from heart disease and stroke was more pronounced in participants who got tooth scaling at least once a year.”

Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, stated that it is already known poor oral hygiene is associated with risk factors also linked to heart disease, such as smoking and a poor diet.

Gayle Harris, director of the Durham County Health Department, recently told the Herald Sun oral infections could make conditions related to diabetes and heart disease worse.