Our goal goes beyond keeping your oral health in check.

1. Gum Disease and
HIV
Getting infected with AIDS through kissing has long been debunked as a
myth, but there are new studies pointing to a disturbing new connection
between the mouth and the human immunodeficiency virus.
According to dental researchers from Case Western Reserve University, they
discovered the effects of by-products of bacteria in periodontal disease
known as a metabolic small fatty acid (SCFA). Their findings told them that
these acids can work together activate dormant HIV in T-cells, causing the
virus to replicate.
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2. The connection between SCFA and HIV makes
sense considering earlier studies found a
higher concentration of the virus in the saliva
of HIV patients with gum disease. This is
fascinating news, as it opens the door to the
possibility that other bacterial by-products can
use a similar mechanism to change gene
expressions in response to other diseases.
The way SCFA works, as doctors described it, is similar
to how jumper cables get a dead battery to run again.
All humans have a spare supply of T-cells that lie
dormant, which only activate to ward off infection.
Jumpstarting HIV
People infected with HIV can have sleeper HIV-1 viruses
hidden in this hidden reservoir of T cells, and activate
with the rest of them. The SCFA provides the impetus
for the T-cells to activate, and transfer their energy to
the virus, giving it life and the ability to replicate.

3. Researchers observe how SCFA triggered a chain of events that led to the
activation and replication of the virus, providing a rare look at how the small
universe of microbes. Additional research needs to investigate the
mechanisms that drive viral replication in gum disease. In the meantime,
HIV antiviral therapy can help patients keep the virus dormant in the pool of
T-cells. This reinforces the importance of getting treatment for gum disease
as soon as possible.
SOURCES:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682214004905
http://currambinedentist.com.au/
http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/653#Ignore