Brushing your teeth can reduce your risk of a heart attack, according to this cardiologist

If tough talk from your dentist isn’t enough to motivate you to maintain healthy oral habits, this information might be. The importance of good oral hygiene has been tied to lower risks of serious illnesses, like heart disease.

Brown University Medical published a blog on the subject in, where experts explain the relationship between daily brushing and lower risks of heart attacks.

A healthy diet has benefits for your teeth and your ticker

One should not misinterpret the relationship as “causal,” urge the readers, implying that brushing your teeth means you won’t have a heart attack. Instead, researchers at the American Heart Association found that people who brush their teeth twice a day for the recommended two minutes had “a lower risk of heart attack, heart failure, or stroke."

So while experts cannot say that brushing your teeth reduces the risk, the study does find that those who took better care of their oral hygiene also tended to have healthier hearts. The distinction between correlation and causation is critical here because those with better dental hygiene may also eat a healthier diet that reduces their risk of cavities and clogging their arteries.

Cardiologist and content creator Jermey London has also promoted the link between a healthy mouth and heart in his recent video. In the short video, London explains that daily brushing reduces the risk of developing gum disease.

Gum disease can cause inflammation, and London explains that chronic inflammation can lead to atherosclerosis, which is when the body’s arteries begin to harden, thus increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke. Dr. London’s advice to his patients and fans: follow the advice of your dentist and brush at least twice a day for two minutes.

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