At the recent Europerio9 meeting in Amsterdam the European Federation of Periodontology stated that:
Oral health represents:
Between 0.5-1% of GDP and about 10% of medical expenses.
They also set out a number of facts and figures that we should all be taking note of and helping do something about:
- Periodontitis (gum disease) is the most common chronic inflammatory disease of humans.
- 8 out of 10 people aged 35 and over suffer from some kind of gum complaint.
- Periodontal diseases are the most common conditions to afflict us europeans but are amongst the least acknowledged.
- Gum disease can cause tooth loss and affect the rest of the body.
- Periodontal diseases do not tend to cause pain or intense discomfort. The most frequent symptom is bleeding gums.
- Periodontal diseases represent a major cause of expenditure in the adult and elderly population.
- Periodontitis is significantly and independantly associated with the major chronic inflammatory diseases of ageing, including atherogenic cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney disease, obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Severe periodontitis adversely affects blood-sugar levels in non-diabetes subjects and blood-sugar control in diabetes patients.
- The worse the periodontitis, the worse the diabetes complications (heart & kidney).
- Overall, studies show that successful periodontal treatment improves diabetes outcomes.
- Severe periodontal disease imparts significantly elevated risk for coronary artery (heart) disease.
Treatment of periodontal disease
Treatment of periodontal disease to a defined end-point reduces annual medical costs in patients diagnosed with:
- Type-2 diabetes by 40%
- Heart disease (coronary artery disease) by 11%
- Stroke patients (cerebrovascular disease) by 41%
Benefits of treating periodontal disease
The corresponding reductions in hospital admissions are:
- 39% in diabetes patients
- 29% in heart disease patients
- 21% in stroke patients
If you have any concerns about your oral health please do give us a call at Life Dental & Wellbeing, Exeter Dental Practice - we are here to help you keep your own teeth for as long as possible.
