SimplyTest

June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, and it’s a good time to talk about a connection many people still don’t know enough about: the link between oral health and brain health.

Research has been building around P. gingivalis, a key periodontal pathogen associated with gum disease. Studies have identified its toxic enzymes, called gingipains, in Alzheimer’s brain tissue, and its DNA has been detected in cerebrospinal fluid samples from people living with Alzheimer’s disease.

The mouth is not separate from the rest of the body.

Periodontal disease is preventable and treatable, and understanding what’s happening below the gumline can be an important part of caring for whole-body health.

You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

We’re headed to !

Stop by and connect with SimplyTest to see how saliva testing can bring more precision, insight, and innovation into patient care.

A healthier mouth starts with understanding the microbiome.

A new peer-reviewed study in Frontiers in Dental Medicine evaluated the Test, Treat, Repopulate™ method and its impact on key oral pathogens associated with periodontal disease and caries risk.

Following the combined protocol, researchers observed significant reductions in several bacterial species, supporting the growing importance of microbiome-focused care in dentistry.

Congratulations to the study authors, including SimplyTest Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer Dr. David J. Vigerust.

Read the full study here: https://bit.ly/4oc6uvl

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. One risk factor almost nobody talks about? Gum disease.

About 1 in every 5 female deaths in the U.S. is caused by heart disease, yet only about half of women recognize it as their leading cause of death.

The oral-systemic connection is not new science. But it is still missing from too many women’s health conversations.

Gum disease is more than “bleeding gums.” It is a chronic infection involving the tissues that support the teeth. When the gums stay inflamed, bacteria and inflammatory signals from the mouth can enter the bloodstream and contribute to systemic inflammation.

That matters because chronic inflammation is one of the processes involved in cardiovascular disease, including the development and progression of arterial plaque.

Studies show people with gum disease have about 2 to 3 times the risk of a serious cardiovascular event compared to people with healthy gums. That does not mean gum disease is the only cause. Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, and other risk factors matter too.
But it does mean oral health deserves a place in the conversation.

And because gum disease can be silent in its early stages, providers need better ways to look beneath the surface.
Salivary testing can help identify and measure the specific periodontal bacteria associated with gum disease and inflammation. That gives dental and medical providers more objective insight to support earlier detection, more personalized care, and better conversations across the mouth-body connection.

Your health does not operate in silos.
Neither should your care.

May is Women's Health Month, and oral health deserves a place in that conversation.

Hormonal fluctuations don't just affect mood and energy. They also change what's happening in the mouth. From puberty to pregnancy to menopause, shifting hormone levels influence the gums, saliva, oral bacteria, and the body's response to plaque and inflammation.

These changes can contribute to gingival inflammation, dry mouth, cavities, and increased gum disease risk at different life stages. Menopause adds another layer. Bone density, mucosal tissue, and saliva production can all be affected, yet these changes are rarely part of the oral health conversation.

Gum disease during pregnancy has been linked to preterm birth and low birth weight. Yet it rarely comes up in the prenatal care conversation.

That is why prevention, personalization, and collaboration matter in women's care.

Women's health includes oral health. So why are the two rarely discussed together?

SimplyTest saliva-based testing gives dental and medical providers a shared window into a patient's health, supporting more informed, personalized care across every stage of a woman's life.

Clinicians rely on diagnostics to understand what’s actually happening beneath the surface.

That insight doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from the work happening in the lab every day.

During Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, we recognize the professionals behind that work.

Thank you for the precision, attention to detail, and consistency that support patient care every day.

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month.

High-risk Human papillomavirus (HPV) is now a leading cause of oropharyngeal cancer in the U.S., linked to ~60–70% of cases.

HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer often develops without symptoms early on. By the time symptoms appear, disease may already be advanced.

That’s the challenge.
And the opportunity.

Dental visits may be one of the only opportunities to identify risk in otherwise healthy, asymptomatic patients.

High-risk HPV infections can persist for years before cancer develops, creating an opportunity to identify and monitor risk earlier.

With tools like SimplyTest OralHPV, providers can gain additional insight into high-risk infections and monitor patients over time.

Early detection doesn’t start with symptoms.
It starts with understanding risk.