PECULIARITIES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DENTAL PATHOLOGY AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (LITERATURE REVIEW)
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s disease, dental status, dental caries, periodontal disease, oral healthAbstract
Resume. Dementia is a global medical and social challenge and one of the leading causes of disability and dependence in the elderly. It has a profound physical, psychological, and economic impact not only on patients themselves but also on their relatives, caregivers, and society as a whole. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which accounts for 60–80% of cases and is characterized by a slow, irreversible progression that ultimately leads to death. The etiology of AD remains unclear, with multiple hypotheses proposed – the amyloid cascade, tau, neurotransmitter, mitochondrial, inflammatory, oxidative stress, neurovascular, and genetic hypotheses, as well as theories of glucose hypometabolism (“type 3 diabetes”), metal involvement, microbiome, and infectious origins. In recent years, researchers have increasingly focused on the possible relationship between AD and oral pathology. The discovery of periodontopathogens in the brains of AD patients has raised the possibility of an infectious contribution to the disease. This relationship is bidirectional: on theone hand, chronic periodontal inflammation can sustain systemic inflammation and promote neurodegeneration; on the other, cognitive decline in AD reduces motivation and the ability of patients to maintain oral hygiene, thereby worsening dental health. Thus, the severity of cognitive dysfunction directly correlates with oral health deterioration, while a unifying paradigm of inflammation links the course of AD with chronic oral diseases. Maintaining oral health and timely treatment of dental diseases in elderly patients may play an important role in slowing the progression of neurodegenerative disorders. Preservation of a functional stomatognathic system helps sustain essential functions such as mastication, speech, and aesthetics, which directly affect the quality of life in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
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