Would you believe prostate cancer!? Early results from a study at Case Western show a possible link. Patients with more severe forms of prostatitis (including malignancies) also had more periodontitis.
And now Alzheimer's. Researchers at Boston University School of Dental Medicine link tooth loss and periodontal disease to cognitive decline in one of the largest and longest prospective studies on the topic to date. Boston area veterans were enrolled in the study in the 60's and 70's. They found that for each tooth lost per decade, the risk of doing poorly on cognitive tests increased approximately eight to 10 percent. The author wrote, “The findings should also give dentists yet another reason to prevent tooth loss and periodontal disease and encourage patients to do as much as they can to prevent dental disease.”
