According to the results of a recent study carried out in Luzhou Medical College, China, researchers have established a connection between periodontitis (inflammation/ infection of the gums) and erectile dysfunction (ED). However, many doctors and dentists believe that the evidence is a little exaggerated. The study is published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
The study revealed a correlation between the gum condition and sexual function in male rats. An older study revealed that the gum condition is more common in men who have erectile dysfunction.
Those at the medical school believe that treating periodontitis could improve a patient’s sexual health but others suggest that the gum infection indicated problems with one’s general health and that it is the poor overall health that might increase one’s chances of suffering from erectile dysfunction.
The gum condition has before been linked with heart disease and as we know heart disease is associated with ED but many think it unreasonable to suggest a direct link between gum health and the penis.
The bodies of the rats with periodontitis experienced inflammation and at high levels this can be dangerous for one’s general health. Rats also had less of an enzyme called eNOS which plays a role in biological signalling that will cause an erection to form. The research suggests that the inflammation might have decreased the amount of this enzyme and therefore inhibited the formation of an erection.
Our guess is that people with periodontics are less healthy, therefore more prone to systemic health issues, of which erectile dysfunction can be a marker.