Twice-yearly dental check-ups appear to protect against developing pneumonia compared with less frequent dental visits, according to an analysis of national survey data. The findings further support the link between poor dental hygiene and bacterial infection.
“The risk of pneumonia appears to be decreased in those who customarily attend routine dental check-ups,” said Michelle Doll, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond. “There may be a relatively simple intervention, routine preventive dental care, that can assist in achieving pneumonia prevention.”
Dr Doll noted that previous studies have suggested a link between dental care and bacterial pneumonia risk. “We wanted to examine a larger population to see if dental care, overall, is preventive. We found that people who visited their dentist more frequently were protected against pneumonia. Compared to visits at least twice a year, persons who never saw a dentist had an 86% increased risk,” she said.
Dr Doll presented the findings here at IDWeek 2016, the joint annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the HIV Medicine Association, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Dental Care a Significant Factor in Pneumonia Diagnosis
Pneumonia was significantly associated with decreased frequency of dental check-ups. Compared with persons who visited the dentist at least twice a year, persons who had dental check-ups less than once a year had a 49% increased risk for pneumonia (P = .0373) and persons reporting never having visited a dentist had an 86% risk (P = .0008).
The mechanism of protection may be related to influx of pathogenic organisms from the mouth into the lung. “It is believed that in persons with good oral hygiene, there is less potentially pathogenic bacteria tracking into the lung and causing disease,” Dr Doll explained. Even in healthy persons, small quantities of saliva can aspirate into the lung. “The content of that saliva depends on one’s overall oral health. If there are pathogenic bacteria, this could cause pneumonia,” she said.
Dr Doll and her team acknowledged that frequent routine dental visits may indicate more long-term healthy oral behaviors or better general health.