Similar to your gut, your mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria. Some of those bacteria are good and some are bad. The bad guys include disease-causing doozies like Staphylococcus and E. coli.

The most common bacteria that can cause pneumonia and is typically found in the mouth is Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus).

The longer you let the bad bacteria brew, the more likely they are to travel to other places in your body — especially your lungs…

See your dentist to keep pneumonia away

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University found that regular dental visits can reduce your risk of developing the dangerous respiratory infection, pneumonia, by an astounding 86 percent.

These researchers examined the health and dental records of 26,000 people and concluded that those who never visit the dentist for check-ups are 86 percent more likely to develop pneumonia than people who visit the dentist twice a year.

Of course, if you’ve only missed one or two dental visits, your pneumonia risk isn’t quite that sky-high. But you’re heading down a dangerous road…

A 2014 study confirmed the perils of putting off your dental visits too. In this study, Brazilian researchers found that people in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who received extensive dental care from a dentist were 56 percent less likely to develop a respiratory infection while in the hospital than those who just received run-of-the-mill dental care.

Clearly, there’s a connection between bad bacteria in your mouth and bad bacteria in your lungs… which makes perfect sense. If there are more bad bacteria lurking around anywhere in your body, there’s a greater risk of it going rogue and causing serious health problems.

And it’s not only your lungs that are affected. Bad mouth bacteria can make their way to your heart, blood and other organs too. It’s even been tied to an increased risk of cancer.

Next-level oral hygiene

When life gets busy, it’s easy to let healthy practices fall to the wayside… including your biannual trip to the dentist.

But don’t put twice-yearly dental visits off too long. Because, if you do, it could set the stage for a serious infection. With the cold, flu and COVID viruses now circulating, we’ve got more to contend with. About a third of all pneumonia cases start as a respiratory illness.

Of course, it’s also critical to practice good oral hygiene in between dentist visits. That includes obvious habits like brushing and flossing daily, as well as less obvious habits like eating a healthy diet, supplementing for oral health and practicing the ancient art of oil pulling.

If you want to try it (my holistic dentist swears by it!) any edible oil will do, even though after using it to rid your mouth of nasty bacteria you should spit it out. Popular ones include coconut, sunflower or sesame seed oil. I am a fan of black seed oil because its known to promote a balanced immune system response and is effective against the inflammation that’s so closely tied to gum disease.

It comes in bottle or supplement form. I take a black seed oil supplement, so since I keep them on hand, I will break one open and mix it with a little coconut oil. Here’s a short primer on how to do it:

1. Put about 1 tbsp of oil in your mouth
2. Swish it around your mouth for about 15 minutes
3. Spit out the oil, then proceed with brushing your teeth

Sources:

1. “Regular dental visits may help prevent pneumonia, study shows.” ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.

2. “Proper dental care linked to reduced risk of respiratory infections in ICU patients.” ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.

3. T. Bellissimo-Rodrigues, et al. “Effectiveness of a Dental Care Intervention in the Prevention of Lower Respiratory Tract Nosocomial Infections among Intensive Care Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 2014; 35 (11): 1342.