Healthy mouth bacteria provide ideal conditions for gum disease

Gum disease is a risk factor for a number of other diseases, including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease: When the oral bacterium P. gingivalis was introduced under normal conditions it stimulated the growth of normal bugs leading to a large increase in the number of those organisms already there. P. gingivalis was introduced at very low levels but had a major affect on both the immune system and the inflammatory system.