Regular Visits to Your Gainesville Dentist Can Prevent Pneumonia
The benefit of visiting your Gainesville dentist cannot be overstated. Never has this been more evident than now; research recently presented at IDWeek 2016™ suggests that regular, twice-yearly dental checkups and cleaning could significantly decrease the risk of pneumonia.
Drawing on data from the 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey on dental and healthy care utilization rates, costs, and patient satisfaction, Michelle Doll, MD and her team found: people who had zero dental checkups in the study period were 86 percent more likely to contract bacterial pneumonia. Doll is an assistant professor of internal medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Virginia Commonwealth University and was the lead researcher on this particular study. (Study co-authors included Kristen Kelly, MSc; Scott Ratliff, MS and Norman Carroll PharmD.
“There is a well-documented connection between oral health and pneumonia, and dental visits are important in maintaining good oral health,” said Dr. Doll. “We can never rid the mouth of bacteria altogether, but good oral hygiene can limit the quantities of bacteria present.”
IDWeek™ is the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS). IDWeek 2016 took place October 26–30 in New Orleans, with a particular focus on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Of the million Americans who become ill with the infection every year, how many cases could be prevented, how easily? The mouth is a veritable breeding ground for bacteria (e.g., streptococcus, haemophilus, staphylococcus) that when allowed to fester and grow aspirates into the lungs, causing pneumonia.
Everyone is susceptible to pneumonia. Everyone can reduce their risk.