When Gum Disease Reaches the Brain: How Oral Health May Hold the Key to Preventing Alzheimer’s

The Surprising Mouth–Brain Connection
For decades, Alzheimer’s disease has been considered purely a brain disorder — a tragic decline of memory and cognition caused by mysterious changes deep in the mind. But recent research is painting a new and startling picture: the story might actually start in your mouth.
Scientists have discovered that the same bacteria responsible for chronic gum disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis, may travel from the mouth to the brain. Once there, it can set off harmful changes that resemble — and may even cause — Alzheimer’s disease.












