Life

Ask the Dentist: Gum disease bacteria linked to higher risk of oesophageal cancer

Dentist Lucy Stock of Gentle Dental Care in Belfast says bacteria associated with gum disease could indicate increased cancer risk

Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide
Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide

GUM disease could be more problematic than just causing your teeth to drop out, a new study in the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research suggests.

Maybe you have been noticing your teeth drifting down or gaps appearing between the teeth where the gum used to be. Or perhaps your family have been loving enough to broach the subject of your bad breath? The likelihood is that there is something untoward going on in your mouth.

It’s not the time to make like an ostrich and bury your head in the sand, pretending nothing’s happening. If you are waiting for your gums to be painful before you seek treatment then normally the gum disease is in a very advanced state, with a tremendous amount of bone loss around the teeth. The thing with gum disease is that the sooner you catch it and treat it the more teeth you will save.

This latest study gives an even bigger reason to take care of your gums. Scientists have analysed the bacteria present in the mouth and showed that some types of bacteria that lead to gum disease were associated with a higher risk of oesophageal cancer.

Oesophageal (commonly known as food pipe) cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Because the disease is often not discovered until it has reached an advanced stage, five-year survival rates range from about 15 to 25 per cent worldwide.

"Oesophageal cancer is a highly fatal cancer, and there is an urgent need for new avenues of prevention, risk stratification, and early detection," said the lead researcher Jiyoung Ahn.

Previous research has shown that gum disease caused by certain oral bacteria has been associated with several types of cancer, including mouth, head and neck cancers.

On the flip side, interestingly the study also showed that a few types of mouth bacteria were associated with a lower risk of oesophageal cancer, potentially meaning that these bacteria could play a role in preventing oesophageal cancer.

So if your gums are bleeding or your teeth are becoming loose, ask your dentist about it first. Just going out and buying a mouthwash is rarely an effective enough solution. Teeth often need professionally and meticulously cleaned of the hard tartar below the gum to ensure health. When suitable, bone can even be regrown around loose teeth, making them firm up again.