Gum disease raises risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 70%, study finds

21 Aug 2017
People who have suffered from gum disease for ten years or longer are 70 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has discovered.
The research, published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, looked at more than 25,000 people to examine whether patients age 50 or older with severe gum disease – also called ‘chronic periodontitis’ – had an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease1.
Although they did not determine any direct causal link between the two diseases they did discover that people who suffered from long standing gum disease, of ten years of more, were up to 70 percent more likely to then develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Leading UK health charity, the Oral Health Foundation, has long recognised close links between poor oral health and general health and believes that by paying closer attention to our mouth we will be able to better maintain better overall health later in life.
Dr Nigel Carter OBE, CEO of the Oral Health Foundati…

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