Kathleen A Kelly DDS
| Article |
Perio: Flaky Science
Dandruff and periodontal disease—those are two conditions you wouldn't expect to see written in the same sentence. However, research is beginning to point to a connection between them.
Dandruff [top photo] appears in several forms, one of which is plaque psoriasis [bottom photo]. Plaque psoriasis is skin cells that go nuts and dogpile on top of each other to form a thick, silver layer of dead cells that flake off. It can show up anywhere on your body.
Research is showing that periodontal disease (perio, for short, a chronic dental infection that can result in tooth loss) shares characteristics with plaque psoriasis. For starters, perio and psoriasis are the result of an inflammatory response. They also share at least one type of skin cell. The same proteins and enzymes that respond to a bacterial attack on your gums and teeth respond to an attack on your skin.
Scientists are cautious about making a decisive link between perio and psoriasis because there is much more research to do.
So, is this a "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" argument? That, too, is too early to tell. But what we do know is that perio has already been connected to many health issues including heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Keeping your mouth healthy ultimately may turn out to be one of many keys in maintaining your entire overall health. You can do three things to have a healthy mouth:
- Brush twice each day with fluoridated toothpaste.
- Floss at least once each day.
- See your dentist at least twice a year and more often if you experience something out of the ordinary in your mouth.
Call us. We're here to keep you and your beautiful smile healthy.