Research Planned to Examine the Link Between Memory Loss and Oral Health

Memory loss is considered by many to be an inevitable part of the natural aging process. When looking at the possible causes of mild to moderate memory loss, would you be surprised if I told you gum disease could be one of them?

The National Institute of Health recently awarded a $1.3 million grant intended to fund studies that look for a link between gum disease and memory loss. According to this press release, Richard Crout, D.M.D., Ph.D., an expert on gum disease and associate dean for research in the West Virgina University (WVU) School of Dentistry, will share the grant with gerontologist Bei Wu, Ph.D., formerly of WVU and now a researcher at the University of North Carolina; Brenda L. Plassman, Ph.D., of Duke University, a nationally recognized scientist in the field of memory research, and Jersey Liang, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Michigan. Wu is the principal investigator.

At this point, the exact link between memory loss and gum disease is unknown, however the inflammatory response associated with gum disease, and/or microorganisms found in the mouth that are connected to health problems, may be the culprit. Crout explains, "If you have a gum infection, you’ll have an increased level of inflammatory byproducts. We’re looking for markers in the blood that show inflammation to see if there is a link to memory problems. We’d like to go full circle and do an intervention – to clean up some of the problems in the mouth and then see if the inflammatory markers go down."

Assuming the connection is discovered, prevention and treatment for mild to moderate memory loss could begin with a trip to see your dentist, "This could have great implications for health of our aging populations," Crout said. "With rates of Alzheimer’s skyrocketing, imagine the benefits of knowing that keeping the mouth free of infection could cut down on cases of dementia."