Dental scaling and AF

A very interesting article on dental scaling and AF:
Dental scaling and AF

This compares a group who do not have their teeth scaled against those who do at least once a year. There is a 33% reduction in the risk of AF if you have your teeth scaled once a year and a whopping 66% reduction if you have them scaled twice or more a year (if I read the stats correctly).

I've known of the increased risk of heart disease from poor dental hygiene, but this is the first time I've heard of a confirmed relationship to AF. The same bacteria in the mouth can invade the heart as well. Presumably this causes inflammation and hence the increased risk.

Improving dental hygiene may be too late once you have AF, but it would appear vital if you are due to have an ablation in order to prevent a recurrence.

I used to just brush my teeth twice a day and get them scaled once a year. I had some slight gum disease and I developed AF. For the last 5 years I get them scaled twice a year and floss and use those little interdental brushes too. My hygienist says I do not have a trace of gum disease, which she says is unusual (for Brits!). I've had an ablation which was successful and still holding after 3 years. It sounds like I sorted out my teeth just in time!

I'd be interested in other views on this study.

Mark

Scaling is a form of expensive torture. I use Hydrogen Peroxiode now and it works better at least for me.

I don't understand the scaling, and the Hydrogen p.. I have my teeth cleaned 3 times a year, and never have diseases...
My question now is I had a tooth crowned years ago, and it had to have fillings under neath a couple of times, so now it is going to have to have a root canal..My heart is in permanent Afib..
I got a copy of the letter my Dentist sent my Cardiologist..He is to fax her or e-mail her back to get his approval of treatment. (by specialists) She also says of course they always use anesthetics without vasoconstrictors for treatment..
I can't stand root canals they make me so nervous anyway without the Afib..and I'm so afraid it will get my heart beating so fast, I'll end up in the hospital...the tooth does not hurt and is not infected, so I don't know what to do...any answers?.... Thanks....Nel

Ive been scaling and deep cleaning my teeth now 4 X a year for 15 years and prior to that usually 2x a year.
Yea right it's prevented my afib...........no offense intended but everything seems to cause afib but yet no one knows anything about it either.......geesh! This is the only disease that they can’t make up their minds about.

Does dental scaling refer to just routine teeth cleaning like a hygeinist does, or deep cleaning of gums that is done for those with gum disease? It's not clear which it's referring to. If it refers to the former, I get my teeth cleaned twice a year and have done so since my 20's. I also brush and floss daily and have been doing so since my 20's. But for some reason bacteria grow very fast in my mouth, and it's hard for me to stay on top of keeping my teeth clean. I still get gum infections frequently. There are some people who never visit a dentist who have great teeth and disease-free gums.

I can see there might be a relation between my teeth and gums being so prone to infection and my AF. Maybe I should get my teeth cleaned 4 times a year since I'm so prone to gum disease.

Mark - I always welcome the opportunity to comment about dental health.

You probably recall I’m a retired RDH. The statements you offer are true. Not everyone accumulates the (hard) calculus deposits that need to be scaled away from inside the cuff of tissue (gingival sulcus) surrounding each tooth but many do and that’s often when perio problems begin…but not always. The same with the sticky plaque accumulations (biofilms) which eventually turn into to the hard plaque or calculus if not removed by daily flossing. But annual scaling is definitely preventive in that it cleans off the microscopic calcified accumulations that lead to trouble both with the local dental tissue and ultimately, systemically, as potential infections.

There are opinions that biofilms are protective in nature but historically, they have been shown to be foundational for causing both periodontal disease and decay if not kept at minimal levels with scrupulous home care and periodic professional maintenance care.

Flossing correctly and daily is the key to avoiding a buildup of the sticky accumulations of bacterial biofilms or plaque around all teeth and gum tissue. These plaques are highly acidic and can quickly etch and erode or decalcify tooth enamel… which allows dental decay to begin. If the plaque is not disturbed every 24 hours (by brushing and flossing), then the calcification buildup (think barnacles) called calculus can begin within a few days and that calcified matrix harbors more colonies of the harmful bacteria which feed on food residues and excrete their toxins into the surrounding tissue. The deposits of calculus are porous and hold imbedded irritants close to the tissue …thus initiating the inflammatory response and often micro infections and once that begins, then the same blood that circulates in the gingival sulcus also circulates to the heart, brain, lungs, liver, all organs and tissues throughout the body.

So yes, twice a year scaling at a very minimum would be appropriate for those who accumulate it. Definitely….because it’s not good to have those toxins continually circulating in our body.

Same with plaque that isn’t removed daily when flossing isn’t a daily habit. The sulcus becomes deeper and deeper until floss doesn’t reach to the bottom of the sulcus and a periodontal pocket forms which then is typically inflamed, often sensitive, and bleeds easily and all the toxins and bacteria in the pocket can circulate continuously in the blood stream. If a patient has an undiagnosed mitral valve prolapse, this can be a potentially dangerous situation.

I’ve had patients who needed scaling every 2-3 months just to try to keep ahead of the problem…and most of the time, these people progressed to needing periodontal surgery to correct the pocket depths because it’s impossible to maintain a sulcus that is 5 mm or more for any length of time. Pocketing causes bone loss and eventual loss of the tooth if not corrected. It’s impossible to maintain a deep periodontal pocket for any length of time and avoid further bone destruction.

On the AF connection, Mark…. Here’s my personal observation. Since we always do a thorough medical history review of patients when they return for the scaling/maintenance appointments, we know what health and meds changes exist. In my 25 years as a hygienist, I have seen very few people with diagnosed AF. I was the first in my office (21 years employment)… but I’ve not worked for 16 years so the numbers could increase although my former DDS employer has commented that they’ve only seen one other AF case since I left. On the other hand, having worked for a periodontist…the specialty practice that sees those for the surgical remediation for pocketing, …. I still did not see patients with AF. Perhaps today with the increasing prevalence of all the causative factors that contribute to AF development, an increased incidence does exist.

With my history… I didn’t then or do not now, have any pocketing or any sort of gingival inflammation or even plaque… ever. I’m one of the fortunate people who produces a very minor amount of plaque so my AF can’t be linked to a perio problem.

As for scaling techniques... depending on the amount of calculus accumulations, the scaling can be 'light' or routine or require the deep scaling that may be done by quadrant... ie, one fourth of the mouth at a time (60 minutes a session) for severe pocketing and then treated with an antimicrobial flushing etc. Better to clean well daily at home to avoid the extensive procedures required to arrest the progression of full-blown perio disease.

Jackie



…

Nel - before you go back for the root canal treatment, consider the comments made in the post on Alkalinity, pH, voltage and Healing... in the General Health Forum at this link....scroll down to tooth infections.
[www.afibbers.org]

While my dental education has always promoted 'saving the tooth at all costs'... progressive thinking by medical people such as Dr. Tennant have always maintained that leaving a 'dead part' in the body makes no sense and it does interfere with the energy flowing in the respective energy meridian.... and if the tooth is on the same meridian as the heart, then the manifestation will be a heart symptom or complication. Now that I've become so involved in energy medicine, it makes perfect sense to give it serious consideration.

It may be in your best interest to sacrifice the tooth and forgo the root canal treatment.

Jackie

Golpa Dental Implant Center Teeth In A Day!
They usually do it in one day.
This isn't the kind of implant stuff that you are thinking about.
No bone grafting.
Watch the video.
IT AIN'T CHEAP
Have no idea if they are familiar with any AF issues.

Jackie give it the 3rd degree

[golpa-dentalimplantcenter.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2013 01:19PM by Todd.

Dentists .... just trying to drum up some business !!

Don't believe it.

Jackie, thank you for the info...I copied some of it so I could go though it later...I have 3 root canals and my niece has 11..(can you believe that, and she has no problems)

I'll have to read all the Dr. says about Auto immune Diseases, as I also have Polymyalgia Rhuematica. One of over 80 types of immune Diseases....
I'm waiting now to see what my Cardiologist thinks should be done..maybe they will want to pull it, but the tooth is the fourth one on the right bottom...argh!!!
Thanks again..Nel

My Cardiologist seems to think any treatment my Dentist wants to do is fine..I have an appt with her next weeks so I'm going to see what she says, I don't know that she agrees with my Cardio...I think she will probably fill the one tooth which I don't think there will be a problem, but don't know about the other...(no implants for sure)
I floss my teeth 2 or 3 times a day, and brush 2 times, but had a problem getting help all the time when I was in the hospital so many times the last 13 years.....Nel