Flossing makes for a healthier heart

April 14, 4:33 PMWilmington Wellness ExaminerLaurie Wiker

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Are you doing everything you can to keep your heart in top shape?  Ok, so you work out, you don’t smoke, and you avoid artery-clogging fatty foods, right?  But do you floss?  If not, you may want to start.  Numerous studies have found strong evidence that dental health is an integral component of heart health.

Research shows that the same bacteria that causes gum disease can enter the blood stream and prompt blood platelets (the body’s clotting mechanism) to clump, which may ultimately lead to blood clots, a precursor to stroke and cardiac arrest.

"Because many Americans have some form of gum disease, this research can't be brushed aside," Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor in chief of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal said in a statement.  "As it turns out, the health of our blood vessels could be hanging by the proverbial thread: dental floss."

Michael Roizen, M.D., author of Real Age: Are You As Young As You Could Be? says that daily flossing is "one of the twelve easiest things a person can do to live longer and younger."  He adds that adding an age-reducing behavior to your life - and he counts flossing among these behaviors - can make you look and feel up to 6.4 years younger than your actual age.  Flossing daily can help you keep your heart healthy by helping you avoid periodontal disease.  People with periodontal disease are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack, and 3 times as likely to suffer a stroke.  Diabetics who also have severe periodontal disease have trouble maintaining appropriate blood sugar levels.  Harmful bacteria from periodontal infections can enter your bloodstream from the open sores on your gums associated with periodontal disease.  These bacteria have been linked to ulcers, pneumonia, premature births, and the often-deadly infective endocarditis.

If you consider flossing to be inconvenient or you tend to forget, consider this: Besides preventing gum disease and promoting heart health, flossing and brushing can even help you lose weight by giving your mouth a clean, fresh feeling that you don't want to spoil by eating.  Regular flossing can also help to keep your breath smelling fresh.  Now who doesn't want that?  To avoid forgetting, keep floss in several places so it’s handy at several points throughout your day to improve the odds that you’ll floss at least once per day.  Floss packs come is sizes small enough to keep in a purse or wallet, your car, your desk at work, or any room where you watch TV or spend most of your time while you’re at home.

For its part, Delaware’s Health and Social Services is doing what it can to improve residents’ oral health as part of the Healthy People 2010 initiative, a national effort  “designed to identify the most significant preventable threats to health and to establish national goals to reduce these threats.”   The site has several helpful articles for you and your family on oral health, including brushing and flossing tips.