Reduce Your Risk for CVD & Stroke

At Total Health Dentistry of Encino, Isaac Comfortes, DDS, spends time educating his patients about the connection between their oral health and systemic disease. One of his primary concerns is the significant contribution oral bacteria make in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

This is because a preponderance of scientific evidence now indicates that bacteria found in periodontal disease play a role in causing damage to blood vessels, including those of the heart.

When gum tissue becomes inflamed (causing the condition called gingivitis) or infected (causing the condition called periodontitis), oral bacteria damaging to blood vessels is spread throughout your body. Studies have demonstrated that when there is an absence of gum disease, there is significantly less of these damaging bacteria in your blood vessels and your heart.

Some research suggests that the more bacteria you have from gum disease, the thicker your carotid arteries may be. If they’re too thick, blood can’t flow to your brain, and that can cause a stroke. Read more.

What can you do to reduce your risk of CVD and stroke, and how can Total Health Dentistry of Encino help?

In addition to improved nutrition, regular exercise, and regular medical exams, everyone should be conscientious about good oral hygiene and regularly visit their dentist for professional teeth cleaning and checkups. Gum redness, puffiness and any bleeding should be taken seriously as a sign that damaging periodontal bacteria are present and traveling through your blood stream.

Dr. Comfortes was one of the first dentists to partner with Oral DNA Labs to offer his patients Oral DNA Saliva Testing in Our Office (salivary diagnostics) that identify specific bacteria and their preponderance in a patient’s mouth. If you have active periodontitis or suffer from recurring or chronic gum disease, Oral DNA Saliva Testing will allow Dr. Comfortes to more effectively treat the disease and lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. He will do this with short-term bacteria-specific antibiotics, which are highly effective when added to comprehensive periodontal cleaning, application of antimicrobial solution in gum pockets, and an increased frequency of prophylactic dental cleanings. Repeat DNA saliva testing will provide verification of the bacteria reduction achieved.

“Gum inflammation is a silent killer. It is never healthy to have bleeding gums, even in one isolated area,” says Dr. Comfortes. “I am on a mission to eliminate all incidences of bleeding gums among my patients. This will lower their risk of CVD and stroke. I have patients whose cardiologists have tested them before and after proactive elimination of gum infection, and their risk markers have dropped.”

Eliminate all gum inflammation, and reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Isaac Comfortes, DDS, offers more than salivary DNA diagnostics for oral pathogens. He also offers state-of-the-science treatment for periodontal disease, appropriate health counseling, and referral to a cardiologist if indicated.

Dentist Isaac Comfortes of Encino, CA can help you achieve optimal oral health with the aid of salivary DNA diagnostics and thus significantly improve your heart health. He’s on a mission to eliminate bleeding gums. We welcome new patients, and invite you to give us a call today!

Dr. Comfortes also recommends reading the book BEAT THE HEART ATTACK GENE by Bradley Bale, MD and Amy Doneen, MSN, ARNP. In this book, Bale and Doneen look at many factors that lead to cardiovascular disease and artery wall inflammation. They stress that good oral health is crucial to overall health, especially cardiovascular health.

If you care about your health, have experienced gum inflammation (periodically or chronically) and have indications of cardiovascular disease, we recommend you afford yourself relatively low cost Oral DNA Saliva diagnostics and improve your opportunity to eliminate inflammation in your mouth and throughout your body.

Call Total Health Dentistry of Encino today – (818) 990-9101.