Pneumonia Caused by Poor Dental Hygiene?

Yale University says so.

The oral systemic health study, presented this past October at the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting in Boston, was headed by Dr. Samit Joshi of Yale University School of Medicine.

Researchers found changes in bacteria in the mouth preceded the development of pneumonia.

What does this mean to us?

Although many more studies need to be done on both oral systemic dentistry as a whole, and this specific connection between pneumonia and poor oral health, this preliminary info at the very least suggests we can learn more, together with our dentists, to improve at-home prevention protocol and enhance in-office screening procedures.

It also means we can all pay attention to taking care of our teeth and gums.

According to a recent article from The Telegraph reporting on the Yale University study, poor oral health has been associated with respiratory diseases for a number of years, as bacterial chest infections are thought to be caused by breathing in fine droplets from the throat and mouth into the lungs.

This can cause infections, such as pneumonia, or could worsen an existing condition.

The Telegraph article goes on to mention how past oral systemic health studies have even suggested a higher mortality rate from pneumonia in people with higher numbers of gum problems.

Dr. Joshi concluded that this process “suggests that changes in oral bacteria play a role in the risk for developing pneumonia.”

So aside from diabetes, heart disease, stroke, premature birth, and problems with conception, it looks like we can now add pneumonia to the possible risks associated with poor dental health.

Besides the Brush & Floss 2x per Day…What Can We Do as Dental Patients?

Primarily, we can continue to read and share the informative beneficial dental health info published by ACE Dental Education. So remember to share this info with your loved ones when you’re through reading!

We can also communicate more with our dental health practitioners – whether it’s a hygienist or oral maxillofacial surgeon.

Simply opening the lines of communication between dentists and patients, will ultimately allow us to gain a greater knowledge of oral systemic health issues, and maybe take steps in everyday life to protect our teeth and gums…along with everything else.

Dental patients also need to educate themselves to the dangers of less than optimal oral health, just as it is incumbent on our trusted family dentists to educate us.

If We Only See Our Dentist Twice a Year, How Can We Keep Up with all this Dental Health Info?

The best dentists in town are not only good at dentistry; they’re also good at communicating with their respective local communities.

The best dentists tirelessly promote optimal oral health like an election year Presidential candidate.

They accomplish this molar media blitz by effectively utilizing popular communication channels; and by actually having face to face conversations with their people in their community, friends, families, colleagues, and us – dental patients.

Whether through the thrice annual office visit or with the help of their websites, dental newsletters, direct mail, blog posts, social media shares, digital word of mouth, Google+ Circles…and so on and so on and so on…technology and personal communication habits have merged to give us this social sharing dental space of beneficial overall health information.

So the next time your dentist cares enough to share the social dental info, give them a little love.

Ask questions if you have them; then spread the info amongst your friends, followers, and virtual connections!

Anyone know how else can we lend a little social street cred to our trusted neighborhood dentists?

The above article is a guest posting by Social Dental Network:

Social Dental Network is a consortium of dental advocates bent on communicating beneficial dental health information and promoting eradication of the cavity creeps. Generating return on social media engagement, increasing local online visibility, & amplifying digital word of mouth for neighborhood dental practices is what we do.