{"id":177,"date":"2021-02-14T18:34:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-14T18:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/?p=177"},"modified":"2021-03-05T18:36:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T18:36:58","slug":"heart-health-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Heart &#038; Gums: An Important Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Woman smiling with healthy gums while sitting\" class=\"wp-image-178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s February! While everyone thinks of Valentine\u2019s Day, this time of the year is also home to American Heart Month \u2013 an effort to raise awareness on the importance of cardiovascular health. You may know of some of the more obvious factors that impact your heart health like diet and exercise, but did you know that gum disease can affect it as well? Read on to learn about the surprising connection between your heart and gums to lower your risk of problems like heart attacks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Can Your Gums Affect Your Heart?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gum disease is a common dental issue that impacts around 50% of the current US population. It\u2019s an infection and inflammation that is caused by poor dental hygiene. When you don\u2019t brush or floss, plaque builds along the gumline, inflaming the tissue. Caught early on, gum disease is completely reversible. However, if it\u2019s left untreated, it can lead to a variety of problems including jawbone deterioration, permanent tissue damage, and even tooth loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, recent studies show that the risks of gum disease don\u2019t stop with your mouth. This condition can lead to up to 20% higher risks of heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular issues. How? The same bacteria that infect your gums can get into your blood stream, inflaming your arteries in the process. This makes it more difficult for your blood to travel to your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preventing Gum Disease<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is that gum disease, and the risks that come with it, can be completely prevented if you know the right steps to take. It all starts with brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes each session. Angle your brush head at 45-degrees, paying close attention to your gumline for the most effective cleaning. Additionally, floss once a day to keep lingering food debris from resting on your gums. If flossing is difficult, try pre-strung floss picks or a water flosser. Plus, you can use a nonalcoholic mouthwash afterward to clean hard to reach areas of your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, don\u2019t forget to visit your dentist for regular checkups and cleanings. These appointments give your dentist an opportunity to catch gum disease while it\u2019s still reversible. Plus, your hygienist will be able to remove tartar that couldn\u2019t be cleaned away on your own and give you some tips for better at home care after spending some time with your smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ready to stay healthy for American Heart Month and beyond? Just remember these tips for healthy gums to keep the rest of your body in tip-top shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meet the Dentist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Scott Olson is a highly trained dentist in Springfield who offers a variety of options for periodontal therapy. He provides thorough checkups that include gum examinations to catch any signs of gum disease before it can develop into a real problem. For any questions, he can be reached through his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/contact-us.html\">website<\/a> or by phone at (417) 823-4900.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s February! While everyone thinks of Valentine\u2019s Day, this time of the year is also home to American Heart Month \u2013 an effort to raise awareness on the importance of cardiovascular health. You may know of some of the more obvious factors that impact your heart health like diet and exercise, but did you know [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is There a Connection Between Your Gums and Heart? | Dr. Olson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For American Heart Month, learn about the surprising relationship between gum disease and your cardiovascular health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is There a Connection Between Your Gums and Heart? | Dr. Olson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For American Heart Month, learn about the surprising relationship between gum disease and your cardiovascular health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Olson Family Dental Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-14T18:34:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-05T18:36:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"drolson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"drolson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/\",\"name\":\"Is There a Connection Between Your Gums and Heart? | Dr. Olson\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-14T18:34:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-05T18:36:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b08762875d7e0748fee4c4328ac62c4\"},\"description\":\"For American Heart Month, learn about the surprising relationship between gum disease and your cardiovascular health.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533,\"caption\":\"Woman smiling with healthy gums while sitting\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Your Heart &#038; Gums: An Important Relationship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Olson Family Dental Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b08762875d7e0748fee4c4328ac62c4\",\"name\":\"drolson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/496611b1c4a95add2ea5e431d65859b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/496611b1c4a95add2ea5e431d65859b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"drolson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/author\/drolson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is There a Connection Between Your Gums and Heart? | Dr. Olson","description":"For American Heart Month, learn about the surprising relationship between gum disease and your cardiovascular health.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is There a Connection Between Your Gums and Heart? | Dr. Olson","og_description":"For American Heart Month, learn about the surprising relationship between gum disease and your cardiovascular health.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/","og_site_name":"Olson Family Dental Blog","article_published_time":"2021-02-14T18:34:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-05T18:36:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-300x200.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"drolson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"drolson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/","url":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/","name":"Is There a Connection Between Your Gums and Heart? | Dr. Olson","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-14T18:34:14+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-05T18:36:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b08762875d7e0748fee4c4328ac62c4"},"description":"For American Heart Month, learn about the surprising relationship between gum disease and your cardiovascular health.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AdobeStock_195605395_2___1594669374_87170.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"caption":"Woman smiling with healthy gums while sitting"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/heart-health-month\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your Heart &#038; Gums: An Important Relationship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/","name":"Olson Family Dental Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b08762875d7e0748fee4c4328ac62c4","name":"drolson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/496611b1c4a95add2ea5e431d65859b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/496611b1c4a95add2ea5e431d65859b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"drolson"},"url":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/author\/drolson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfielddentist.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}