Oral health linked to Alzheimer’s?
A $1.3 million research grant will help United States (US) scientists study the links between memory and oral health in a bid to establish control over Alzheimer’s disease.
The US studies will be led by Dr Bei Wu of the University of North Carolina and Dr Richard Crout of the University of West Virginia, who will continue with a program testing oral health and memory in 273 people aged 70.
The new funding will establish larger studies looking for links between oral health and brain function over time, while scientists will also seek to establish a link between improved cognitive function and better oral hygiene through intervention to improve oral health.
In an interview this week Dr Crout, who has predicted that dentists may in future be in a position to administer memory tests on older patients, said, “to have overall good general health you need to have good oral health.”
