A dental expert has given crucial advice that could help people avoid dementia. Dr. Alp Kantarci, speaking at the Zoe Health Podcastrevealed that research indicates that people who suffer from oral diseases have a significantly increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions.
He explained that extensive scientific studies involving hundreds of thousands of people have established a strong correlation between conditions such as gum disease and brain disorders. The statistics are quite alarming. Dr. Kantarci explained: “We know that oral or periodontal diseases specifically can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s or neurodegenerative diseases by 1.5 to two times. Dementia has doubled. And then Alzheimer disease It can be one point to a five point.”
Zoe CEO Jonathan Wolf was taken aback by these figures, exclaiming: “That’s huge. So, just to make sure I understand what she is saying, she is twice as likely to get dementia if she has an oral disease than if she doesn’t.”
Dr. Kantarci, a dementia expert, highlighted that the relationship between poor dental health and dementia is bidirectional. He explained: “The opposite is also true. Having Alzheimer’s disease can also increase your chance of getting gum disease by 1.5 to 2 times. Therefore, it is a two-way or two-way link between those two, which justifies the view that oral health.”
Dr. Kantarci is a professor, scientist, dentist, oral health researcher, periodontist, dental implant surgeon, and senior staff member at the Forsyth Institute, an independent research institute focusing on the connections between oral health and overall well-being. .
Jonathan Wolf chimed in: “It’s not just that someone has dementia, so their oral health is worse. Do you think poor oral health can cause this? And I know you said you’re doing intervention studies, but we all know that takes a long time.”
Dr. Kantarci emphasized the importance of intervention studies, which involve improving a person’s oral health as a preventative measure against dementia. He stated: “Intervention studies will be extremely important because they will show how much risk we can reduce and which populations will resist this risk reduction. I mean, yeah, these are all lovely studies that show that if you don’t brush your teeth, you may have a higher chance of getting neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”
“But when we do the intervention studies, will it help everyone reduce their risk? We don’t know that yet. So that’s going to identify how much of this is actually coming from oral sources and how much of this is actually coming from the systemic impact of oral diseases so that it can really affect you.”
Dr. Kantarci’s ideas underscore the critical importance of maintaining good oral health as a potential means to mitigate the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, highlighting the need for further research and intervention strategies.