FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Gum disease is yet another health risk factor brought on by obesity.
Dr. Diego Camacho with Fort Lauderdale Periodontics and Implant Dentistry said obesity leads to chronic inflammation.
A recent study in mice revealed how that can inflate bone-destroying cells.
“So the researchers were seeing that the obese category, the high-fat diet mice with higher inflammation were producing cells that were eating away at the bone structure,” Camacho said.
Bone loss is a major symptom of gum disease and may ultimately lead to tooth loss.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gum disease affects more than 47% of adults over the age of 30.
Heart-valve surgery
Researchers are finding benefits and drawbacks from a two-step surgical approach for treating leaky heart valves.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients who had tricuspid valve repair at the time of mitral valve surgery were less likely to die and appeared to do better during a two-year period after treatment.
The downside was that patients who had both procedures were more likely to need a permanent pacemaker.
More than 8 million Americans are diagnosed with some form of heart valve disease every year.