Dental Health May Benefit the Brain

According to a study published in the online issue of Neurology on July 5, 2023, dental health may be connected to better brain health. The study discovered a relationship between gum disease and tooth loss and brain shrinkage in the hippocampus, which is involved in memory and Alzheimer’s disease. The study does not establish that gum disease or tooth loss causes Alzheimer’s disease; rather, it demonstrates a link.

Tooth loss and gum disease, which is inflammation of the tissue around the teeth that can cause shrinkage of the gums and loosening of the teeth, are very common, so evaluating a potential link with dementia is incredibly important,” said study author Satoshi Yamaguchi, Ph.D., DDS, of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. Our study found that these conditions may play a role in the health of the brain area that controls thinking and memory, giving people another reason to take better care of their teeth.

The study included 172 participants with an average age of 67 who did not have memory issues at the start.

At the start of the trial, participants got dental checkups and memory tests. They also got brain scans to determine the volume of the hippocampus at the start of the trial and four years later.

Researchers counted the number of teeth in each participant and examined periodontal probing depth, a measurement of the gum tissue, to look for gum disease. Healthy readings range between one and three millimeters.

Mild gum disease is identified by probing depths of three to four millimeters in multiple regions, but severe gum disease is identified by probing depths of five to six millimeters in several areas, as well as significant bone loss, which can cause teeth to become loose and finally fall out.

Researchers discovered that the number of teeth and extent of gum disease were related to alterations in the brain’s left hippocampus.

Fewer teeth were associated with a higher rate of brain shrinkage in the left hippocampus in persons with mild gum disease. However, having more teeth was associated with a higher rate of brain shrinkage in the same area of the brain among persons with severe gum disease.

After controlling for age, the researchers discovered that for those with minor gum disease, the increase in the rate of brain shrinkage caused by one fewer tooth was equivalent to roughly one year of brain aging. In contrast, for patients with severe gum disease, one extra tooth caused an increase in brain shrinkage comparable to 1.3 years of brain aging.

“These results highlight the importance of preserving the dental health and not just retaining the teeth,” Yamaguchi said. “The findings suggest that retaining teeth with severe gum disease is associated with brain atrophy. Controlling the progression of gum disease through regular dental visits is crucial, and teeth with severe gum disease may need to be extracted and replaced with appropriate prosthetic devices.”

Yamaguchi believes that larger-scale research are required in the future. Another disadvantage of the study is that it was limited to one region of Japan, therefore the findings may not be applicable to other areas.

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