Proposed Mechanisms of Interaction between Periodontal Disease and Dementia

Periodontitis has been linked to cognitive impairment and dementia after controlling for confounding factors such as age, sex, and educational attainment.^{4,18,20,62-65}Periodontal disease progression is characterized by dysbiosis and elevated chronic inflammation, and dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease have been linked to periodontal disease through both inflammatory and bacterial mechanisms.^{20,27,28,66-71} Periodontitis has also been linked to increased systemic and neurological markers of Alzheimer’s disease.^20,72,73