# Dentistry and pancreatic cancer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283 "2015-08-29T15:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/1 "2015-08-29T15:02:33Z")
[This article](http://prwire.com.au/pr/53902/preventative-dentistry-may-prevent-alzheimer-s-disease-pancreatic-cancer-and-heart-disease) mentions studies connecting gum disease, pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Bacteria causing cancer seems unusual to me, but I have little knowledge of medicine and biology. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/2 "2015-08-29T15:14:40Z")
That’s not exactly a quality publication there. I have seen other research pointing to bacterial involvement in heart disease; mainly in plaque formation. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/3 "2015-08-29T20:35:05Z")
Looking for connections between microbiology and all sorts of diseases is an interesting area of ongoing research right now. A few tidbits have been found here and there that hint at possible connections, but the actual evidence is quite thin - enough to prompt further investigation, but FAR from enough to draw any conclusions yet. This “article” - really a barely-veiled ad for dental services - is simply cherry picking a handful of published data points, making an Evel Kineval-sized leap of logic, padding the empty conclusions with a bunch of weasel words, and promising impossible benefits that are wholly unjustified. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/4 "2015-08-29T20:59:01Z")
I haven’t read the article but wonder if it’s referring to Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that came to fame when its role in the cause of ulcer disease became known. For example, [here’s a paper](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4231501/) that suggests a possible, but by no means conclusive, link between H. pylori and pancreatic cancer. And, [here’s a review](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4365310/) on the possible link between H pylori and atherosclerosis. There is much less worth citing, though, regarding H pylori and dementia, just a few speculative reports (IMO). [Here is one](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24629396) such paper. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/5 "2015-08-30T00:50:34Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > This “article” - really a barely-veiled ad for dental services - is simply cherry picking a handful of published data points, making an Evel Kineval-sized leap of logic, padding the empty conclusions with a bunch of weasel words, and promising impossible benefits that are wholly unjustified. Thanks, Smeghead. I can worry about my teeth, not pancreatic cancer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/6 "2015-08-30T01:40:58Z")
The link between gum disease and heart disease is _extremely_ strong, that one’s not even in question, and has been understood since the early 90s at least. Heart disease runs deep in both my parents’ families, and I take scrupulous care of my teeth and gums as a result. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/7 "2015-08-30T01:55:12Z")
Perhaps heart disease causes gum disease. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-and-pancreatic-cancer/729283/8 "2015-08-30T02:22:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Perhaps heart disease causes gum disease. No, the microbe that causes gum disease gets into the bloodstream and starts damaging the artery walls, IIRC.