Bad teeth could give you cancer

FAILING to brush your teeth regularly could put you at much greater risk of suffering cancer.

Those with a history of gum disease may be in danger of developing throat and stomach tumours, research suggests.

For adults who had lost teeth the risk was even higher, scientists in the US said.

A team at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, studied rates of oesophageal and gastric cancer in 148,000 people over 20 years.

They found that a history of gum disease was associated with a 43 per cent increased risk of oesophageal cancer and a rise of 52 per cent for gastric cancer.

Researchers found those who had suffered gum disease and had lost one or more teeth were linked with a 59 per cent increased risk of throat cancer while for gastric cancer it was between 50 and 68 per cent. A link between bacteria commonly found in the mouth and throat cancer had been made by other scientists in previous studies.

It is also known that gum disease can also lead to heart problems when bacteria spread through the blood.

Another reason the cancer risk is heightened is that poor oral hygiene and gum disease could help promote bacteria already known to cause gastric cancer, scientists said. The authors concluded: “These data support the importance of oral microbiome in oesophageal and gastric cancer.

“The additional findings may serve as readily accessible, non-invasive biomarkers and help identify individuals at high risk for these cancers.”

The study has been published in the medical journal Gut.