Years of research has shown that neglecting oral health and especially gum disease is linked to an array of other physical disease.
Now, a recent study by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast (June 17, 2019) has shown that poor oral health linked to a 75% increase in liver cancer risk.
Diagnoses of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) also known as liver cancer, has substantially increased in Canada and is considered the fastest rising cancer linked disease in the country.
Since 1970, the incidence rate of liver cancer has tripled in Canadian men and doubled in Canadian women, rising every year by 3.6% in men and 1.7% in women.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, the main factors contributing to liver disease are alcohol use, obesity, diabetes, and smoking but now poor oral health can be added to the list, and this new development should be a cause for concern for a lot of people – especially those on a fixed income or those that don’t have access to a dentist because of financial reasons.
Poor oral health is linked to an array of diseases and decreases the length and quality of life for a substantial number of people in Canada.
According to Dr. Pio Modi, DDS, a dental surgeon at Parkway Dentistry, there are major risks to neglecting oral health which can serious and fatal results:
Oral bacteremia has been established as a very significant contributor to many systemic diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, pre-term low birth weight, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and as well as a multitude of other serious systemic conditions.
The Queen’s University study analyzed more than 469,000 people and investigated the link between oral health conditions and the risk of a number of gastrointestinal cancers, including liver, colon, rectum and pancreatic cancer and included subject-reporting of conditions like painful or bleeding gums, mouth ulcers and loosened teeth. The study aimed to discover the association between poor oral health and specific types of gastrointestinal cancers.
469,628 people participation; 4069 developed gastrointestinal cancer; 13% reported poor oral health and the majority of the 13% were younger females living in underprivileged communities and were not able to eat healthy food such as fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
