The government has announced a new aspiration to double the amount of money spent on dementia research.
If this is the case, then it can only be hoped that some of the money will be diverted to dentistry as well as other seemingly more appropriate research projects.
This may seem a rather bizarre thing to say, but recent research by scientists at the University of Central Lancashire suggests a very strong link between Alzheimer’s disease and poor oral health.
There have been other studies that suggested a link between gum disease and dementia but this new project is the first that appears to show a definitive link.
The scientists examined brain samples taken from dementia sufferers and non-sufferers. They found signs of Porphyromonas gingivalis in all of the dementia-brains indicating that the individuals had gum disease as well.
While the bacterium itself was not found, the end products of the effects of the bacterium were found. As such, the link was proved via extrapolation rather than direct.
With dementia and Alzheimer’s disease becoming ever more prevalent across the globe this evidence should help to pinpoint one cause. And more importantly, it should enable dental educators to push for more money for research and for more education about the need to maintain a proper oral health regime.
It also indicates that dental hygiene is no longer just that. Rather our oral health is paramount now in preventing the development of some of the most major disorders medical science is fighting today from heart disease to diabetes.
Speaking with reporters, Professor St. John Crean, Dean of UCLAN’s School of Medicine & Dentistry said that in the past; a link between herpes simplex 1 and dementia has been found. And that now the research indicates the bacteria present in an individual with gum disease could cause and exacerbate Alzheimer’s if they were exposed to the appropriate trigger.
