Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Save teeth= Save memory

Teeth Affect Memory

WHEN your dentist pulls an aching tooth they could be yanking out some of your memory at the same time, according to a new Swedish study to be presented in Stockholm tomorrow.

"Teeth appear to be of the utmost importance to our memories," Jan Bergdahl, an associate psychology professor at the Umeaa University in northern Sweden, a dentist and one of the authors of the study, said today.

For the study, which is part of a broader memory study called Betulastudien, researchers followed 1962 people aged 35 to 90 starting in 1988, comparing the memories of those who still had teeth and those who had pulled all their teeth and were using dentures.

"When people have no teeth their memories are clearly worse than when they have teeth," Mr Bergdahl said.

Recent Japanese studies on rats and monkeys have shown the link between teeth and memory but according to Mr Bergdahl this is the first large-scale study on humans that clearly connects the same dots.

While the Swedish research has yet to unveil what impact pulling a single tooth has on the human memory, Mr Bergdahl said that "going forward, we plan to look into how many teeth a person has to lose before it affects their memory. We will also investigate how tooth decay affects memory loss, and what affect tooth implants have".

He insisted however that he didn't expect future studies to reveal that implants improve memory.

"I don't think that is very probable. Animal tests have shown that pulling teeth severs nerves to the brain," Mr Bergdahl said, pointing out that the new Swedish study could dramatically change dental care for the elderly in the future.

"We might want to think twice before pulling out teeth that are a problem," he said.

http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/memoray_affected_by_dental_health.htm

That's the reason why we should take good care of our teeth, we must have a daily schedule to your dentist. brush our teeth trice a day and use dental floss to prevent cavities between our teeth.

4 comments:

fioey09 said...

Haha cool. Its interesting to think that teeth could be related to a persons decrease in mental capacities. Good thing i still have all my teeth. Guess fluoride is also good for the brain eh?

chupi said...

Sabi na nga ba ni tito eh, most cavities happen sa lugar na di abot ng toothbrush.
oooh ahhh oooh ooh ahh hmmm fresh na ngaaaaa!
do the cheeky cheeky! pagkatapos mong kumain do the cheeky motion! Brush all day and all night!

These are just some of the commercials we see on tv that promotes clean teeth. This is the first time i've heard that if you lose you teeth you lose your memory as well. I think it is just right to be clean at all times especially the mouth area. In doing so, we don't just make ourselves look better but also healthy inside out.

makicheeky cheeky na!

kobegay said...

This post made me call my dentist and make an appointment immediately. I don't want to loose those "happy times" and fond memories in my life. Maybe that's why some of the old people tend to be forgetful because most of their teeth have already fallen. It may not be just a case of Alzherimer's. Now, I would always remember to take care of my pearly whites. You never know when that smile could come in handy.

imarockstarr08 said...

wow, that's random! but way interesting. i guess despite the notion that parts of the body aren't all connected, i guess now they are. who would have thought that our mouth had something to do with our brain? i guess we should all know how to take care of our selves. that it isn't just giving importance to one thing like the internal organs but also to our outer appearance like our skin and how we look cuz in the end you never know being 100% hygienic could be the reason why we live to be a hundred right? :)