Dementia and oral health linked

“Correlation does not imply causality” is what I would say about the findings of this study.  That is also what they are saying and I don’t think it is that surprising.  People that take care of themselves generally also brush their teeth more and those individuals are less likely to get dementia for a plethora of reasons.  It’s important to brush and floss, but I personally don’t think that proper oral health has much of an influence on whether or not one gets dementia. Paganini-Hill 2012

One thing I do think that is interesting is that they think the routine of daily oral health care (brushing and flossing) is what is possibly helping.  Well that and the fact that those with daily oral health routines likely have other daily routines.  I find this interesting because one way they say keeping your sanity if kidnapped or held hostage is to maintain routines like brushing your teeth.  Routines like brushing and flossing in the morning and night are likely a defense mechanism against mental decline or an exercise that helps maintain mental health.