No, we don’t know that gum disease causes Alzheimer’s

A new study suggests a link between oral bacteria and Alzheimer’s, but it’s far from proven

gingipains

GUMMED UP  Scientists found a molecule called gingipains (red), which is produced by gum bacteria, in nerve cells (yellow) in the brains of people who died with Alzheimer’s.   

Cortexyme, Inc.

Do you floss regularly? A study published January 23 in Science Advances — and the news stories that it inspired — might have scared you into better oral hygiene by claiming to find a link between gum bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease.