{"id":7339,"date":"2025-03-14T22:31:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T02:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/?p=7339"},"modified":"2026-03-02T10:14:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:14:44","slug":"dental-flossing-stroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/dental-flossing-stroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Regular dental flossing may lower risk of stroke from blood clots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2025 &#8211; Abstract 19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regularly flossing, even just once a week, may significantly reduce the risk of stroke caused by blood clots and irregular heartbeats (atrial fibrillation or AFib), according to a preliminary study presented at the American Stroke Association\u2019s International Stroke Conference 2025 in Los Angeles (Feb. 5-7, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Oral diseases are highly prevalent, affecting billions,&#8221; said Dr. Souvik Sen, lead author and Chair of Neurology at Prisma Health Richland Hospital and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. &#8220;We aimed to identify the impact of flossing, brushing, and dental visits on stroke prevention.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, involving over 6,000 participants, revealed that those who flossed had:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list \\&quot;wp-block-list\\&quot;\">\n<li>A 22% lower risk of ischemic stroke (caused by blood clots).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A 44% lower risk of cardioembolic stroke (clots from the heart).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A 12% lower risk of AFib.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These benefits were independent of brushing frequency or dental visits. Notably, increased flossing frequency correlated with greater stroke risk reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the 25-year follow-up, 434 participants experienced strokes, and 1,291 developed AFib. The study considered factors like blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Flossing likely reduces stroke risk by lowering oral inflammation and promoting healthy habits,&#8221; Dr. Sen explained. &#8220;It&#8217;s an accessible and affordable health practice.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers were surprised by the link to reduced AFib, a major stroke risk factor affecting millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Study limitations include reliance on self-reported flossing habits and a focus on stroke and heart outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This study provides valuable insights into dental health and stroke risk,&#8221; said Dr. Daniel T. Lackland, an American Heart Association expert. &#8220;Further research could lead to incorporating dental health into stroke prevention guidelines.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.heart.org\/news\/regular-dental-flossing-may-lower-risk-of-stroke-from-blood-clots-irregular-heartbeats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Detailed information is available on the American Heart Association\u2019s website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ready to take the next step?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are looking for more in-depth resources, patient success stories, and the latest research on dental implants, visit our dedicated educational hub at <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/bostonimplant.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BostonImplant.com<\/a><\/strong>. It\u2019s our mission to be the most trusted source for implant dentistry in the Greater Boston area. Schedule your consultation today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Finesse Dental &amp; Implant Center of Boston<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>617-286-6515 (Call\/Text)<br><a href=\"mailto:support@FinesseBoston.com\">support@BostonImplant.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>183 Essex St, Boston, MA 02111<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d5897.106342479213!2d-71.057471!3d42.352049!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x89e37a789e25d89d%3A0x92c24326e85eb72b!2sFinesse%20Dentistry%20%26%20Implant%20Center!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1768362970055!5m2!1sen!2sus\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2025 &#8211; Abstract 19 Regularly flossing, even just once a week, may significantly reduce the risk of stroke caused by blood clots and irregular heartbeats (atrial fibrillation or AFib), according to a preliminary study presented at the American Stroke Association\u2019s International Stroke Conference 2025 in Los Angeles (Feb. 5-7, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Lee, DMD","author_link":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/author\/slee\/"},"uagb_comment_info":13,"uagb_excerpt":"American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2025 &#8211; Abstract 19 Regularly flossing, even just once a week, may significantly reduce the risk of stroke caused by blood clots and irregular heartbeats (atrial fibrillation or AFib), according to a preliminary study presented at the American Stroke Association\u2019s International Stroke Conference 2025 in Los Angeles (Feb. 5-7,&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7339"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7974,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7339\/revisions\/7974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finessedentalboston.com\/implants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}