We offer comprehensive treatment at Elite Dental Arts in Midtown, including restorations for people who have been impacted by gum disease. More evidence is emerging of how closely gum disease is tied to other conditions, establishing a possibility that periodontal treatments could benefit a patient in unexpected ways. One of the new areas of research is into a connection between gum disease and cirrhosis.
The liver filters toxins out of the blood. But it can become inflamed, and when long-term inflammation results in scarring, the patient develops cirrhosis. People with cirrhosis suffer from inflammation throughout their bodies, including in their brains, with cognitive fog and mood swings resulting. Gum disease is also unusually common in people with cirrhosis. Scientists had thought this was because both can be caused by smoking and alcohol use, but gum disease is also common in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which isn’t directly related to either.
An experiment at Virginia Commonwealth University split patients with both diseases into groups to determine how they would respond to gum treatment. They found that after periodontal therapy, cirrhosis patients had significant cognitive improvements and higher counts of anti-inflammatory gut bacteria than untreated patients. We’re excited to see more research into the importance of fighting oral bacteria, and we want people suffering from gum disease to know how much treatment could help them.
Nick M. Mobilia, DDS
ELITE DENTAL ARTS
9 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
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