Straight to the Heart

Finally an explanation I can understand!

I have always wondered why Periodontal Disease and/or Gingivitis put your Heart at such risk.  Why was the Heart at the forefront?

I can gather how any infection can impair your overall health... and even how germs in the mouth have a front line to our blood via the whole sublingual thing... the one where, the germs in your mouth could easily enter under your tongue, directly into the blood stream.  (This is the fastest and most direct route to your blood stream, and hence one used for many crucial medications.)

But that still didn’t tell me why the heart was more at risk... 

So at risk, in fact, that when when someone with heart related ailments goes in for dental procedures they have to take antibiotics days before their appointment?

Now the answer...  This is so cool!

Your mouth harbors bacteria - especially if you have Periodontal Disease or Gingivitis.  These germs are swallowed and mixed with the air we inhale, continually.  Kind of gross to think about, but they coat and attach to everything along the way.  Your tongue, throat...  nasal passages... you get the picture.

This explains why some people can never seem to get rid of their bad breath no matter how much they brush... and why/how chlorophyll rich drinks really help.

In comes the heart... The heart as you know pumps our blood.  In line with the ‘we need air to live’ it picks up oxygen from the lungs... the germ tainted oxygen!  

Right there is how it happens!  This is why the heart is so at risk.  It’s first in line.  No filtering... no cleaning... just a concentration of germs and bacteria delivered straight to the heart! 

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This recent enlightenment went ‘Straight to my Heart!’   Flossing... water picking.... brushing.... I am on a new mission!  

There's more below.....

My Dad’s words of advice... 

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‘Brushing your teeth might not get you kissed more, but not brushing your teeth will definitely get you kissed less!’

The right side of the heart pumps blood into the lungs.  Carbon dioxide is dropped off and oxygen is picked up.

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The left side of the heart collects oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left atrium.  The blood is then moved to the left ventricle which pumps it out to the rest of the body.
   

~ another tidbit you won't want to know...

 

This was written for Jessica Simpson, after hearing about her hygiene practices.  (or lack of... she claimed to only brush her teeth 3 times a WEEK!?)

Day one after she skips her toothbrushing, "bacteria will slowly start to colonize and reproduce," Dr. Torrado tells Us. A sticky film of plaque could "physically injure gums and promote bone loss."

 

By day two of not brushing, "there will be an abundance of volatile sulfur compounds -- the stuff that produces foul bad breath," Dr. Torrado warns.

 

And forget kissing. "Bacteria specific to periodontal disease will be passed on to whoever she comes in contact with," says the dentist. "By now, not brushing your teeth will not only hurt you, but anybody that

tries to get physically close to you!"

 

As for using a shirt to wipe the teeth clean, as Simpson, 28, says she does? That "won't be efficient enough," says Dr. Torrado. "The bristles of the toothbrush get under the crevice where the gum meet the tooth and remove plaque and bacteria. It has to be a mechanical action."

 

Simpson claims to floss and use Listerine regularly.  "The high content of alcohol in Listerine will dry her gums even more and, being that these tissues are under bacterial attack from days of no brushing, it will probably have a worse effect than not using it at all," Dr. Torrado tells Us.  But this is one toothbrush-free method the dentist endorses.  "Hopefully she likes to eat apples during the day. The fiber in it will act as a cleanse," she says.