Can brushing your teeth prevent pneumonia? Living with Parkinson's Tip of the Week
Who would have “thunk it.” Not brushing your teeth may be linked to aspiration in pneumonia in Parkinson’s?
Here are some tips:
Swallowing issues are commonly associated with later “aspiration pneumonia” in Parkinson’s disease.
Aspiration is the leading cause of death in Parkinson’s disease.
What is aspiration pneumonia? It is a bacterial infection in the lungs.
The infection is caused by saliva, food, liquid, or regurgitated food — this regurgitation or food inhalation of food particles can get into the trachea and lungs (instead of the stomach).
Not brushing and flossing your teeth leads to more and potentially “bad” bacteria in the mouth saliva and in the oral secretions.
This bacteria can potentially get into your lungs.
If you have swallowing problems with your Parkinson’s— brushing and flossing your teeth is doubly important!
We recommend you visit the dentist twice a year if you have Parkinson’s.
