Scientists link oral bacteria to heart disease and cognitive decline

https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/oral-bacteria-heart-disease-health-43d0207e

Comments

tim333Jul 27, 2026, 11:06 AM
I think I first saw something saying scientists had found a link there about twenty years ago. There's a lot of evidence of something going on though some uncertainty to the exact mechanism.
ProjectArcturisJul 26, 2026, 9:32 PM
This has been an ongoing area of research for at least a decade in Alzheimer's. People with worse teeth/gums get Alzheimer's more often and decline quicker.

But no one has been able to disentangle the causality -- is it the oral bacteria, or is it that people in the early stages of dementia take worse care of their teeth?

cleandreamsJul 26, 2026, 11:40 PM
Anyone who is worried about their gum inflammation should consider going on metformin. I had bleeding gums for my entire adult life. In my late 60s I was put on metformin for pre-diabetes. A year later all traces of gum inflammation have disappeared. This is a known side effect of metformin usage. You can look up the studies. It is one reason why metformin is being researched as an anti-aging drug.
fortran77Jul 26, 2026, 7:49 PM
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/oral-bacteria-heart-dise...
fakedangJul 26, 2026, 9:17 PM
And yet dental insurance is de-linked from standard health insurance.
monkmartinezJul 26, 2026, 10:26 PM
I am not sure why you are downvoted. This is absolutely a MAJOR fucking problem in the US. I work with strong men and women that almost all have dental issues. We have "amazing" insurance as professional firefighters in most jurisdictions.

Dental insurance is an absolute scam. Dental coverage in the USA is beyond abysmal. I am very fortunate (or unfortunate depending on perspective) to live close enough to Mexico to investigate the prices there.

I recently had three, previously crowned, teeth removed and the posts for implants placed. The least expensive I could find in my city of 1 million was $16k out the door. I drove to the Mexico border, walked across and paid $3350 for the implants and they replaced a broken crown. I still need to heal completely before they place the arches (the new teeth) and they are going to charge me $2250 for those.

WTH? Its not like they are using TEMU veneers and implants. Its the same stuff, I could pick between zirconia and porcelain. Same machines, same tools, same training. And as a bonus, the dentists and staff were some of the most caring and thoughtful "dental people" as I suffer from "dental anxiety" like no other.

I think a lot of dental anxiety stems from the cost. Furthermore, the fact that we can't really tell what is going on in our mouths like a strange growth on your face or something, means we have to implicitly trust the dentist. Is a $2000 crown really necessary? We have no real way to actually hold a dentist or their practices accountable. There is just too much friction built into the dental system for a normie to really know what is needed versus the dentist needs to pay off a $15000 bicycle so everyone is getting crowns for a month. lol

SapporoChrisJul 27, 2026, 12:52 AM
I think I can beat this on price. Broke a tooth recently in Tbilisi, Georgia. From the top of the tooth it looked like 1/4 broke off, but it was a diagonal break from center to exterior and was all above the gum line.

I really didn't want to get in repaired in Georgia, but with the pain it didn't take long to decide to get it repaired.

Got in repaired for 150 Georgian Lari which is about 57 USD.

Other interesting notes, first day they didn't even ask my name just gave me a temporary filling and charged me 50 GEL. On return visit I was asked my full name and birthday. Got the tooth repaired and paid the remaining 100 GEL. I never filled out any paperwork.

The tooth is quite sensitive to hot and cold but I'm not ready to get a root canal yet. I am pleased with the repair.