Periodontitis promotes pneumonia

Pneumonia is among the most frequent causes of mortality in Spain.

Many of the bacteria that produce it come from the oral cavity. These bacteria are frequently found in cultures from hospitalized persons with severe pneumonia.

In people with severe untreated periodontitis, saliva droplets that are routinely swallowed into the digestive tract can pass into the respiratory system infecting the bronchi.

A study conducted in the United States and published in the Journal of the Infectious Diseases Society of America showed that people who did not have regular check-ups, with periodontal infection control, were 87% more likely to develop pneumonia.

People with long periods of hospitalization, especially in intensive care units (ICU), are at the highest risk of pneumonia.

If you are going to need an intervention for any reason in which a stay in the ICU is foreseen, we advise you to perform a previous oral control.

If you have periodontitis, the risk of pneumonia may exist on a sustained basis if the infection is not controlled. Many people with periodontal disease or periodontitis are unaware of it and are at significant risk for pneumonia. It is advisable that everyone, even if they feel they have no oral problems, check their mouth, especially over the age of 40, when the probability of suffering from periodontitis is high.