Does bad teeth make you more likely to get cancer?

In many people's impressions, the main harm of bad teeth is that they cause toothache or tooth loss. But in fact, with the continuous deepening of medical research, people are increasingly aware that bad teeth are likely to affect the health of the whole body, including but not limited to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc. (see the previous article "Does periodontitis only hurt teeth? The truth is more complicated than you think").

Recent studies have found that bad teeth may even increase the risk of cancer. What is going on?

Oral Disease and Cancer

Cancer has long been defined as a hereditary disease because many sporadic cancers occur due to unmodifiable risk factors, i.e., random accumulation of mutations in highly dividing cell populations. However, a high proportion (30% to 70%) of malignant tumors can be attributed to modifiable risk factors such as smoking, drinking, body mass index (BMI), and chronic infection.

In recent years, the host microbiome has been viewed as a key suspect in the development of tumors, and local chronic inflammation and its impact on systemic health are seen as boosters of the "signature" functions of a variety of malignant tumors.

As we all know, the oral cavity itself is a gathering place for oral microorganisms, and oral diseases (tooth decay, periodontitis, etc.) are often chronic infectious diseases caused by oral microecological imbalance. Therefore, oral diseases are likely to be related to the occurrence and development of tumors.

Periodontitis is a very common chronic inflammatory disease that can cause low-grade systemic inflammation (LGSI). Epidemiological studies have shown that periodontitis is associated with an increased risk of cancer and death.

Image source: Wikipedia

Periodontitis may affect multiple cancers

In fact, the relationship between infection and cancer has long been concluded (see the previous article "These infections are actually related to cancer!"). However, most infections are generally only related to the occurrence of specific tumors. For example, hepatitis B virus infection may cause liver cancer; Helicobacter pylori infection may cause gastric cancer.

HIV infection can cause a variety of tumors because it can damage the immune system.

The carcinogenic effect of periodontitis can be said to have a wide range of impacts. It can promote different cancers in the adjacent areas of infection - the head and neck, as well as distant areas , the latter including but not limited to lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, etc.

It can be seen from this that dental health is not only a part of overall health, but also really has many impacts on overall health.