All dental surgeons know that poor oral health can have serious consequences on the metabolism, but also on the mind. In April 2021, American scientists demonstrated in particular that periodontal disease could be a warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease. In July of the same year, an American study revealed that people who had already lost even one tooth were more likely to present a loss of cognitive function or dementia. A few months later, still in the United States, a $3.97 million National Institute on Aging (NIA) research grant was awarded to researchers at Columbia University to study the links between Alzheimer’s disease and periodontitis. Today, during the congress International Stroke Conference 2023, which took place from February 8 to 10 in Dallas (Texas, USA), researchers presented a preprint that dental health has an impact on our neurons.
In a study carried out between 2014 and 2021, scientists analyzed data from 40,000 adults with an average age of 47 who did not suffer from a stroke. The participants, enrolled in the UK Biobank, were screened for 105 genetic variants known to predispose people to having cavities, dentures and losing teeth in the future.
Using MRI images, researchers were able to spot signs of poor brain health in people with predispositions to oral disorders. Among them is white matter hyper-intensification or an accumulation of damage in the white matter of the brain, which can affect memory, balance and mobility. They also identified microstructural damage to the architecture of the brain compared to MRI of a brain scan of a healthy adult of the same age.
An easily modifiable risk factor
“If poor oral health affects brain health, i.e. the functional state of a person’s brain, we are now able to better understand it using neuroimaging tools like l magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), explains Cyprien Rivier, postdoctoral researcher in neurology at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, USA and one of the authors of the study. The study of oral health is particularly important because poor oral health is common but is an easily modifiable risk factor: anyone can improve it without it taking too much time and financial investment.”
“Poor oral health [a des conséquences néfastes sur] brain health, so we need to be extra careful with our oral hygiene as it has repercussions far beyond the mouthhe develops. Nevertheless, this study is preliminary and more evidence is needed – ideally from clinical trials – to confirm that, in the population, improving oral health will have a positive impact on brain health.”
Remember, however, that in addition to oral health, tobacco, diabetes, poor diet or lack of physical activity are also risk factors for developing cognitive disorders.