Can gum disease harm the lungs?

Periodontal disease, or infected gums, may increase the risk not only of tooth loss but also of heart disease, since the infection can get into the bloodstream and damage the heart's arteries or valves. Now a large observational study suggests that gum infections may threaten the lungs as well.

Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo retrospectively studied data on some 14,000 adults. After adjustment for smoking and other risk factors, the researchers found that those with severe periodontal disease were 45 percent more likely to develop either emphysema or chronic bronchitis than those with milder or no gum disease. And people with more severe gum disease tended to have poorer lung function.

The researchers note two main ways in which gum disease may affect the lungs: directly, by inhalation of the infecting bacteria; an indirectly, by stimulating release of inflammatory chemicals, which spread to the airways and increase susceptibility to infection.

While those findings need to be confirmed by further research, they do add another possible reason to practice good oral hygiene and have your teeth examined and cleaned regularly.