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Better-smelling breath may not be the only way that treating gum disease benefits your sex life. New research says improving the gums may also improve erectile dysfunction.
Previous studies have linked erectile dysfunction (ED) with periodontitis (inflammation of the gums), and now, a new study of patients in Turkey shows that treating periodontitis in affected patients appears to lessen the symptoms of erectile dysfunction after three months.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess a potential link between the severity of ED and the treatment of periodontal disease," wrote the authors, who are affiliated with Inonu University in Malatya, Turkey. "The results revealed that the severity of ED improved following periodontal treatment."
The study involved 120 patients with severe or moderate erectile dysfunction and chronic periodontitis. Half received treatment for their gum disease, while half did not. They filled out questionnaires about their erectile function, and patients who received treatment for their gum disease reported that levels of erectile function improved after three months.
The Turkish research group is not the first to link the two conditions. Past studies in India, Israel and Taiwan have linked periodontal disease with erectile dysfunction; some authors have speculated that gum disease and erection problems share a common cause, while others have suggested that gum disease can cause erectile problems.
The new findings add weight to the idea that gum disease may cause erectile problems.
But the issue is difficult to study, and there has been no strong explanation for why gum disease could have such low-reaching effects.
"Yes, I feel that an association does exist," said Dr. Andrew Kramer, an associate professor of urology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. However, "there is nothing causal between the two," he said.
There doesn't appear to be an explanation for how tooth and gum diseases could affect nerves or blood flow to the male genitalia, Kramer said. However, there are many common denominators that may be behind the apparent link.
"I feel that the causal element is probably vascular disease, poor general health status, lack of medical attention (gum disease), underlying diabetes/hypertension, or all of the above," he said. "They are related and correlated, but due to an underlying common factor."
For their part, the authors sounded a similar note of caution in their conclusions.
"Theresults of the present study provide evidence that periodontal treatment can help to reduce ED," the authors wrote. "In addition, the findings are consistent with those of previous studies in which ED was found to be associated with low-grade inflammation caused by periodontal disease."
However, further studies should clarify exactly how the two conditions may interact, they said.
The findings have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, where they will appear in a future issue.
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I've conducted many tooth and gum exams using my erection. Does that help?
Joe, for
the last time no one wants to hear the details about you and your boyfriend’s
sex-lives, keep it off of the internet please.
"Treating gum disease may fix erection troubles, too, study finds"
Scientists are wrong on this one....
Folks with big Gums, bad breadth rarely get dates, unless its a couzin if you are from the south...
So gettin to the erection part is jumping the gun a little, dont you think Docs?
There was this guy in College, a lotta gum, a couple of teeth (and a fierce Republican)....in the hallway, he would scare the bajeepers out of anyone crossing his path...and that accent, to this day cant quite figure out where the hell this fella was from...
giggity!
This article is only giving us part of the story. Actually, gum quality only helps erections when the partner has healthy gums AND no teeth.
i knew a girl who had the whitest teeth i ever came across.hehe.
I know a guy who never brushes his teeth ever. He got a jaw infection so bad no antibiotic will touch it. No oral surgeon wants to operate on him unless he signs a medical release that he might die in surgery. He is in his 50's and claims he is still a virgin so I guess he can not get an erection either................
OMG! The punch lines for this seed are endless! I am not even going to try my sick humor on this one.
Except now I know how how Mic Jagger gets his long tongue - Healthy Gums!
This explains a lot. My 71 year old man has pristine gums, healthiest his dentist has ever seen. And has never had any 'issues'. Ever.
This myth has been brought to you by the American Dental Association. There are other reasons for erection problems besides bad gums. If bad gums are your problem then by all means get them fixed but don't expect to fix your erection problems by going to the dentist.
Unless your hygienist is insanely hot.
Next time I look for sex ad, my picture will show my nice teeth. Let me see if people get message of my potency.
Makes sense they'd have a shared nerve-network, since both penis and tongue are "tactily similar".
There are other shared neural paths, e.g. the two eyes.
You can have the healthiest mouth in the world, but if someone or something is blocking your mojo, perhaps it might be time for an overdue CHANGE in your existence, because whatever blocks your ability to fully be a man, is surely destroying your life and will shorten it.
I've always known that the leg bone was connected to the hip bone, but this! Does this mean that if I rub my gums...
If you have nasty gums then chances are the last thing I want to examine is your Johnson.
Eating at the "y" can cause gum disease.
Round up all the scumbags in a big room, and you'll likely find gum problems and impotence. Possible to link lots of stuff to scumbaggedness.
these comments make more sense than the article..
The World Health Organization must be laughing right now. Of course, I predict, every manufacturer of mouthwash and toothpaste will soon release their version of "Launch It" the new ballistic mouthwash for men.
well I believe rotten teeth will atract very ugly females; the type that can't get much any way and settles for the male that no self respecting woman will dare to kiss... then it is justifiable to conclude that low quality females will have low quality action on the arousal of the male member, scientifically speaking... no victoria secret chick will go with a gum diseased nasty rotten teeth joe doodoo. sorry if low quality females have low quality action on their thingies.
If the correlation between ED and gum disease was due to poor health and poor health habits, treating the gum disease shouldn't affect the ED, since those underlying conditions would still exist.
CoQ10 has really helped my underlying inflammation and gum-disease problems. There is some relief out there as I found out to my surprise. I'm not recommending this for everyone, I'm just saying that sometimes there is simple help available that your doctor will never tell you about- you have to find it. I know doctors dont want people flying off the handle and treating themselves. Be careful and educate yourself- and you are the one that can best treat yourself when it comes to conditions that can be improved with good supplements and nutrition.