Oral health may have a wide-reaching effect on the entire body’s well-being with two recent studies reporting on the connection between oral health, high blood pressure, and cancer of the esophagus.
The oral health—the condition of teeth and the types of bacteria present in the mouth—of elderly people was the focus of a recent Japanese study.
Japanese Professors, Ken Shinmura, head of the Department of Internal Medicine at Hyogo College of Medicine, and Yoko Hasegawa, head of the Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery at Hyogo College of Medicine, jointly conducted the study which found an association between high blood pressure and low bite force (mastication). This was particularly seen in the elderly who had lost one or more molars. In technical terms, they suffered from a loss of “molar occlusal support” and in addition had a significant 72 percent increase in the risk of high blood pressure. The team classified high blood pressure according to the guidelines set by the Japanese Society of Hypertension….