Dirty Teeth Can Kill You, U.S. Study Shows]

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> Dirty Teeth Can Kill You, U.S. Study Shows

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> Tue Nov 30, 2:13 PM ET

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> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Germs found in dental plaque can make their way

> into the lungs and cause potentially fatal pneumonia in elderly nursing

> home patients, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

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> Though the study was small, the researchers said they found clear

> evidence in eight patients who developed pneumonia while in the hospital

> that had originated from their own dental plaque.

>

> " This is the first study to establish unequivocally a link between

> dental hygiene and respiratory infection, " said Dr. Ali El-Solh of the

> University at Buffalo in New York, who led the study. Writing in the

> latest issue of the journal Chest, El-Solh and colleagues said they

> tested 49 nursing home residents who were admitted to a nearby hospital

> with a high risk of pneumonia. They made molecular fingerprints of the

> bacteria found in each patient's mouth before he or she developed

> pneumonia.

>

> Of the 49 patients, 28 had germs known to cause respiratory disease in

> their dental plaque samples and 21 did not. The patients were watched

> closely for pneumonia. The researchers said 14 eventually developed

> pneumonia and 10 of them had started out with respiratory

> disease-causing germs in their teeth.

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> Tests of germs from the lungs showed the DNA matched the DNA of plaque

> germs in eight of the patients -- more than half. " These findings

> indicate that dental plaque is a reservoir of respiratory pathogens that

> can cause pneumonia in hospitalized institutionalized elders, " said

> El-Solh.

> Nursing homes need to help patients maintain clean teeth and dentures,

> he added.

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