An estimated 50 percent of American adults have the oral health disease known as periodontal or gum disease. Of that 50 percent, more than half (about 57 percent) are men. Periodontal disease has been linked to a long list of other dangerous conditions – from diabetes to heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and even stroke. But now, a new study from the Department of Stomatology at the University of Granada in Spain has found another reason to mind your oral health: Periodontal disease can contribute to erectile dysfunction in men. The University of Granada study was the first of its kind to be conducted in Europe. It was conducted in conjunction with the urology department at San Cecilio Hospital in Granada’s Health Sciences Technology Park with a sample of 80 men and 78 controls. Dr. Alexandra George is a dentist from Wexford, Pennsylvania. She says periodontal disease, like erectile dysfunction, becomes increasingly common with advanced age. "According for the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 47.2 percent of adults above the age of 30 have some form of periodontal disease," she says. "Worse yet, that number skyrockets with age. By age 65, 70.1 percent of adults have some form of periodontal disease." And those numbers coincide quite accurately with erectile dysfunction numbers. By age 40, about 5 percent of men report full erectile dysfunction, and those numbers jump to 15 percent by age 70. For less severe erectile dysfunction, it is estimated that the percentage of men affected by some form of erectile dysfunction coincides with the decade of age, so by age 40, 40 percent have some form of erectile dysfunction, and by age 70, 70 percent will have some form of the disorder. To conduct the study, researchers took sociodemographic data from the participants. They then gave each participant a periodontal exam and tested each man’s testosterone, lipids, blood glucose, c-reactive protein and glycated hemoglobin levels. "The glycated hemoglobin and c-reactive proteins are markers for erectile dysfunction," says George. What the researchers found was that of the patients with erectile dysfunction, 74 percent exhibited signs of periodontal disease. Furthermore, those with the most serious cases of erectile dysfunction also had the worst cases of periodontal disease and subsequent periodontal damage. In fact, men with periodontitis were 2.28 times more likely to have erectile dysfunction than men with healthy gums. "It just goes to show that once again, none of the systems of the body are truly independent of each other," says George. "Oral health isn’t simply confined to the mouth. It affects the entire body, for better or worse."

Think back to your last dental exam: Did Dr. George measure the periodontal "pockets" between your teeth and gums? You may be wondering why - and what exactly she was measuring. It's called the gingival sulcus, and though it’s quite a mouthful (both literally and figuratively speaking) it’s a lot easier to understand than it sounds, especially when you know what you’re looking at. The gingival sulcus can best be described as the space between the tooth’s surface and the gum tissue that surrounds it. The sulcus is a V-shaped groove that goes around the circumference of the tooth’s base. Simply put, the sulcus is what keeps your gums attached to the tooth’s surface. When we measure the pockets of the gums, we are measuring the sulcus. The sulcus should be no deeper than 3mm. Anything deeper is considered periodontal disease, which can cause and contribute to everything from diabetes to stroke to heart disease. Deep gingival sulcus can cause gum disease because the pocket openings allow plaque and bacteria into the gums and then the bloodstream. If the gingival sulcus becomes too infected or pulls away too far from the teeth, there are methods of caring for this issue that can repair damage and prevent any current damage from worsening. If you do have deep pockets and your gingival sulcus is damaged, Dr. George may recommend something called a root planing and scaling procedure to help deep clean the bacteria and plaque from the teeth and gingival sulcus pockets. A root planing and scaling procedure uses special tools to scrape the plaque from the teeth below the gum line. Then the gums are planed, or smoothed, back to the tooth so the gingival sulcus reattaches itself. In some more severe and advanced cases, root scaling and planing may not be quite enough to repair damage caused to the gingival sulcus by periodontal disease. In these cases, Dr. George may recommend a gum-grafting procedure. Gum grafting entails either transplanting gum tissue from elsewhere in the mouth to cover receded sulcus or surgically reattaching loosened sulcus to the teeth. To have your own gingival sulcus checked, schedule your annual or semi-annual oral health exam with Dr. George by calling 724-220-2347 .

According to a new study in the British Journal of Cancer, the bacteria Treponema denticola (Td) has been linked to pancreatic cancer.