Brushing Your Teeth Could Help with Preventing Meningitis

Carrying out daily brushing and flossing habits is often done to keep one’s teeth bright and healthy, but there is a long list of serious health complications throughout the body that may be avoided with these few simple oral hygiene tasks according to new studies.  This includes one potentially fatal infection known as meningitis, a condition that many patients could reduce their risks of contracting with regular brushing, flossing, and trips to our Los Angeles dentist.

The purpose of brushing and flossing teeth is to remove any excess debris that will eventually turn into plaque and bacteria.  In turn, these few substances will interact with other food debris to form various bacteria that can be both harmful to one’s teeth, gums, and the rest of their body.  These studies, recently printed in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, have begun to link some of this oral bacterium to meningitis.

Currently, most experts believe that the bacteria enters the bloodstream through bleeding and damaged gums, often the result of gingivitis or other forms of periodontal disease.  Meningitis will then result in tissue around the brain swelling, a potentially fatal side effect.

While dental hygiene habits within the home are the first step in avoiding this condition, all patients should also receive professional dental cleaning regularly, ideally once every six months.  These few quick and easy steps will not only reduce the patient’s chance of being diagnosed with meningitis, they could also lead to a vibrant and healthy smile that the patient will want to show off day after day.

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