If You Have Kidney Problems, This Is Why You Need To Care For Your Gums

Kidney disease is notoriously difficult to treat, and donor kidneys can be hard to come by. As a result, if you suffer from kidney disease, you should do all that you can to combat it. One of the things you ought to do is to take good care of your gums and teeth. Here's why it's so important.

Gum Disease Kidney Link

Even if you don't have kidney disease yet but have a family history of it, having gum disease could increase your risk. Doctors and scientists performed a study that found that people who had gum disease were more likely to show signs of renal insufficiency, which could lead to kidney damage and disease later in life.

Kidney Disease Worsened By Gum Disease

Some scientists now believe that kidney disease is made worse when you have gum disease. This is due to a combination of bacteria and inflammation.

Inflammation is bad for the body no matter where it is, and unfortunately, inflammation can spread. If inflammation from the gums makes it to the kidneys, it can cause damage to them.

Of course, you might be wondering how anything could make it as far as the kidneys from the gums. The answer is, the bloodstream. If the bacteria responsible for gum disease make it into your blood, they can create inflammation and tissue damage wherever they go. 

The reason this is such a problem is that the kidneys have the responsibility of filtering your entire blood supply on a regular basis. So if the bacteria survive long enough, they're pretty much guaranteed to end up in the kidneys. As a result, this link seems quite plausible.

Death

If all of the rest of this wasn't enough for you, kidney disease has a higher risk of death in people who have gum disease and poor oral health.  The overall risk of death was 41% for people with gum disease, while those without it only had a risk of 32%. That's a considerable reduction, and the only thing that needs to change is how you care for your teeth and gums.

If you know that you're having oral health problems, you can't let it go unchecked. Doing so could put your overall health and life at risk. Talk to a dentist, get a cleaning and examination, and then start flossing and brushing as directed by your dentist. It could mean a big difference in your experience with kidney disease. To learn more, contact dental clinics like Family & Cosmetic Dentistry.