powerman2000

Marjory Abrams, publisher of Bottom Line Publications, has a theory that dentists will eventually become first-line practitioners for assorted medical issues, thanks to increasing evidence connecting oral health and hygiene with chronic disease throughout the body. Here's yet another study connecting flossing and inflammatory ailments that reinforces her vision. This time, researchers found that flossing reduces C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, a critical biomarker of inflammation in the body. High levels of CRP have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk including heart attack and stroke.

The flossing-CRP connection was made almost by accident. Cardiologist Steven R. Gundry, of the International Heart and Lung Institute in Palm Springs, California, told me that after years of haphazard flossing, he finally started doing it regularly and within a few months saw something startling. His CRP levels, which had been mildly elevated, had dropped into the normal range. Intrigued, he established a study with 300 cardiovascular patients and focused on those with CRP levels that were higher than the average risk level of 1.5 mg/L. After flossing regularly for six months, participants' CRP levels were measured and they had dropped to average or low. "If I can get patients to floss, we're more than halfway there," he said. Dr. Gundry also puts patients on a healthy heart diet, which he believes reduces risk as well.

THE PATH FROM YOUR MOUTH TO YOUR HEART

The connection between lowered CRP and flossing is as follows, says Dr. Gundry...

Bacteria that remain between the teeth go into capillaries in the gums and from there enter the bloodstream.
The immune system's white cells emerge to kill the bacteria, blowing themselves up (leukocytic apoptosis) in the process, potentially leaving behind a tiny crater in the endothelial cell lining of the blood vessel wall.
Cholesterol is sent in to make a repair and... well, you can see how repeated white cell attacks on bacteria with cholesterol fix-ups eventually create arterial plaque. The immune debris that results is taken into circulation and may evoke inflammatory responses on endothelium or heart valve labrum.
Damaged endothelial cells in blood vessels secrete CRP, thus elevating it in the blood and creating a biomarker for greater cardiovascular risk.
HOW MUCH TO FLOSS

Dr. Gundry says that he found flossing every other day was enough to lower his CRP levels to 1.5 mg/L. However, daily flossing will reward you with even lower CRP, he says. If you fall back into your neglectful ways, sorry to say your CRP level will climb right back up again. Flossing needs to be a life-long habit, for your heart as well as your dental health.


Source(s):

Steven R. Gundry, International Heart and Lung Institute in Palm Springs, California. He is author of Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution (Crown).

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