12/07/2025
For years, Alzheimer’s disease has been painted as an inevitable result of aging, genetics, or mysterious brain chemistry. But current research is revealing that this neurodegenerative disease may actually be triggered by microbial and inflammatory origins rooted in the mouth — specifically chronic periodontal infections. Yes, that means what’s happening in your gums could be impacting your brain decades later.
This is no longer a fringe theory. Peer-reviewed studies from Harvard, the University of Illinois, and even NIH-sponsored projects are converging on one message:
“Alzheimer’s may be an infection-mediated chronic disease — and the pathogens often enter through the mouth.”
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🔬 SCIENCE BEHIND THE CLAIM
Let’s break this down biochemically and pathophysiologically.
1. Porphyromonas gingivalis: The Smoking Gun
This is the bacterium most commonly implicated in chronic periodontal disease. Once limited to gum recession and tooth loss, it’s now been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
• Key Study (Dominy et al., 2019, Science Advances): Researchers detected gingipains — toxic enzymes secreted by P. gingivalis — in over 96% of Alzheimer’s brain samples.
• The more severe the cognitive decline, the higher the concentration of these toxic proteins.
2. Pathway to the Brain:
• Chronic inflammation breaks down the blood-brain barrier.
• Oral bacteria can enter through bleeding gums, root canals, and even dental implants.
• Once systemic, they hijack immune cells like monocytes or dendritic cells as a “Trojan horse” to cross into brain tissue.
• There, they trigger neuroinflammation, beta-amyloid plaque formation, and neuronal death.
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🔥 THE ROLE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION
Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of plaques and tangles. It’s increasingly understood as an inflammatory condition of the brain — neuroinflammation.
Oral infections do three things:
1. Produce pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha, CRP) that circulate in the bloodstream.
2. Create endotoxins like lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which activate microglia and astrocytes in the brain.
3. Lead to systemic oxidative stress, breaking down neuronal mitochondria.
In simple terms: chronic gum disease keeps your immune system in a perpetual state of red alert — and the brain ends up as collateral damage.
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🦷 ROOT CANALS, CAVITATIONS & DENTAL TOXINS
Beyond periodontal infections, endodontic issues also play a role:
• Root canals can harbor anaerobic bacteria (Fusobacterium, Eubacterium) that leak into the bloodstream.
• Jawbone cavitations (from old extractions) can become reservoirs of necrotic, toxic tissue.
• Mercury amalgams and fluoride exposure also contribute to neurotoxicity and heavy metal burden — both known to compromise neurological health.
Functional medicine takes these issues seriously, even if conventional dentistry largely ignores them.
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📚 CLINICAL AND FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE EVIDENCE
• The Bredesen Protocol (Dr. Dale Bredesen): A functional medicine approach to reversing cognitive decline. Oral infection screening and detoxification are cornerstones of his program.
• Functional testing can now detect:
• Oral microbial DNA in blood (PCR testing)
• Blood-brain barrier permeability (zonulin, occludin)
• Systemic inflammation markers (GlycA, hs-CRP, IL-6)
These are essential tools for early prevention — long before brain MRI or cognitive tests reveal damage.
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💡 FUNCTIONAL TAKEAWAY: HEAL THE MOUTH, PROTECT THE MIND
If Alzheimer’s begins in the mouth, then oral hygiene is neurological self-defense.
Here’s what to recommend:
• Test for P. gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Fusobacterium nucleatum using salivary DNA testing.
• Address root canals and cavitations with a biological dentist.
• Eliminate dental mercury and other heavy metals.
• Support the gut-brain axis with anti-inflammatory protocols.
• Use targeted functional tearing with labratory based supplementstion, enzyme therapyy and chelation binders.
Interested to leaen more about the functional approach offered - schedule a free consult call with the teamm of Ask Dr. Ernst doctors here: https://calendly.com/askdrernst/consult
