Did you know that periodontal disease and cavities are significant threats to oral health? In children, tooth decay is about five times more prevalent than asthma, and seven times more common than inhaled allergies. Adults lose teeth mostly from untreated periodontal disease. Untreated oral disease has resulted in 15% of people over the age of 65 having all their teeth removed.[1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oral Health Surveillance Report: Dental Caries, Tooth Retention, and Edentulism, United States, 2017–March 2020. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services; 2024.] Severe tooth loss resulting in fewer than 8 teeth remaining affects 26% of seniors.[2. Griffin SO, Griffin PM, Li C-H, Bailey WD, Brunson D, Jones JA. Changes in older adults’ oral health and disparities: 1999 to 2004 and 2011 to 2016. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019;67(6):1152–1157.] Untreated tooth decay in permanent teeth plagues 53 million adults in America.[3. Benjamin RM. Oral health: the silent epidemic. Public Health Rep. 2010 Mar-Apr;125(2):158-9. doi: 10.1177/003335491012500202. PMID: 20297740; PMCID: PMC2821841.] Continue reading “Oral Bacteria Could Lead to a Heart Attack and Eye Disease”
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