A new study was just published in the journal of Neurology, indicating that severe gum disease and tooth loss may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

This is no surprise, seeing as previous research has revealed how the presence of bacteria associated to gum disease, in particular Porphyromonas gingivalis, is higher in the brains of those who had Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, toxic enzymes made by the bacterium — called gingipains, were found to be one of the key drivers for the production of protein called tau and ubiquitin, which have been identified as one of the causes of cognitive decline.