Brush your teeth or else

The Internet is full of videos to get kids to brush their teeth.

I’m sure most of you are in the habit of going to the dental hygienist every six months for a thorough cleaning and polishing – and for your semi-annual scolding.

(In all these years, I have never been able to live up to the hygienist’s brushing and flossing expectations.)

But it’s difficult to get motivated early in the morning.

We adults need more than a cute video, so how about this:
This week the University of Central Lancashire in the UK, released a report on what researchers found when they examined the brains of ten recently departed Alzheimer’s patients. They found signs of the same bacteria that inhabit the mouths of people with gum disease.

These bacteria enter bloodstream during dental surgery, or, ironically, during brushing, migrate to the brain, and once they get there, start killing off brain cells.

They may not actually cause Alzheimer’s, but they were clearly present in the brains of the Alzheimer’s patients, whereas in the control group they were nowhere to be found.

And studies also show that elderly people who brushed their teeth less than once a day were up to 65 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who brushed three times a day.

Never mind the jingles or videos – what the scientists are saying is – Brush Your Teeth, or Lose Your Mind.

Otherwise have a great weekend.