Pneumonia Can Be Caused By Bacteria Found In Dentures, According To Researchers

(CTN News) – Several studies have suggested that dentures play a role in the development of pneumonia, if they are not cleaned properly, according to a new study.

If you have an unclean denture, you are exposing yourself to new surfaces where disease-causing microbes can colonise.

Those who wear dentures are then likely to aspirate (inhale) saliva containing harmful microbes into their lungs, where they can then become infected by those microbes, according to researchers from Cardiff University, UK.

The researchers in the study took swabs from a group of patients who had pneumonia and wore dentures in a hospital who also had mouth, tongue, and denture swabs.

The results were then compared with those drawn from denture-wearing patients in nursing homes who did not suffer from pneumonia, who were also taken from care homes.

As a result, they analyzed the samples to determine the number and types of microbes that were present in the samples and the abundance of each microbe.

Dr Josh Twigg from the University of Waikato in New Zealand said, “We were expecting to see a difference, but we were surprised to find 20 times the number of potentially pneumonia-causing bacteria on dentures in people with pneumonia, compared to people without pneumonia.”

This study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, has shown that there could be an association between the wearing of dentures and pneumonia, but Dr Twigg stresses that the study doesn’t prove that people have pneumonia because they wear dentures. It simply shows that there may be some association.

Attempting to unravel the puzzle of what are exactly the sequence of events that led up to this day is an early step toward trying to unravel this mystery.”

Despite the fact that more research needs to be done, the public can still learn from the findings, according to Dr Twigg, even if more research is needed.

According to him, “our research has shown that dentures have potentially harmful microbes living on them, so it is essential to clean them thoroughly before putting them back into the mouth.”

By attending the dentist for regular check-ups and learning about how to look after your teeth properly, Dr Twigg hopes that more people will be able to prevent wearing dentures altogether by attending the dentist regularly for check-ups.

Can dental problems cause pneumonia?

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