A recent study has shown that gum disease is associated with a higher risk for some cancers in older women. Researchers analyzed health data on 65,869 postmenopausal women (average age, 68). In about an eight-year period, 7,149 developed some type of cancer. Those whose dental history included periodontal disease were 14% more likely to have developed cancer than were women who had not had gum disease, regardless of whether the women had ever smoked. This included greater risk for breast, lung, gallbladder and melanoma skin cancer. Highest risk was for esophageal cancer: women with a history of gum disease were 3x as likely to have developed this cancer.

The researchers wrote that the “precise mechanisms through which periodontal disease may promote cancer remain to be determined,” but they noted that ­disease-causing agents might make their way from the area of gum disease to other parts of the body through blood or swallowed saliva or simply by breathing in.

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