Brushing Your Teeth Can Protect Your Heart and Cardiovascular System

For a healthy heart, brush your teeth. Recent studies seem to indicate a link between diseased gums and a diseased heart. Gum disease and inflammation go hand in hand, and the combination of the two can affect the entire cardiovascular system and worsen plaque in the arteries.
To keep your cardiovascular system in good working order, to maintain a healthy heart, remember to pick up your toothbrush twice a day. And use it like you mean it.
People who do not make a point of brushing their teeth with frequency and regularity are 70 percent more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or a related problem with their cardiovascular system, as well as greater inflammation, than those who brushed twice a day.

'We talk often about lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, exercise and diet, and one of the things we can't forget about when it comes to self-maintenance is oral hygiene,' said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. 'It's one new thing. Don't smoke, eat right and brush your teeth.' "