do you often forget to brush your teeth at night do you sometimes even skip brushing your teeth before having your breakfast on a sunday morning if yes heres some bad news for you poor oral health is associated with 75 per cent of increased risk of the most common form of liver cancer found a new research the studythe study conducted by the researchers at queens university belfast analysed over 469000 people in uk the study investigated the association between oral health condition and risk of the number of gastrointestinal cancers including the liver rectum and pancreatic cancer the relationship between cancer risk and selfreported oral health conditions such as mouth ulcers loose teeth and gum bleeding were estimatedthe resultthere was no significant association found between majority gastrointestinal cancers and poor oral health but a significant link was found between hepatobiliary cancer and poor oral health not just this poor oral health has been linked with the risk of several other diseases including heart disease stroke and diabetes out of 469628 participants 4069 people developed gastrointestinal cancer during the sixyear followup though only 13 per cent of these people reported poor oral health participants who reported poor oral health were young women from deprived socioeconomic areas and consumed less than two portions of vegetables and fruits per day the biological mechanism of how poor oral health is associated with liver cancer is currently uncertain one possible explanation can be the potential role of oral and gut microbes in disease development say researchers the liver eliminates the bacteria from the human body and when it is affected by a disease including hepatitis cancer or cirrhosis its function declines and the bacteria survives for longer in the body causing more harm another possible reason could be that poor oral health can also mean missing teeth in some cases such people consume softer foods which can potentially be less nutritious that can influence the risk of liver cancer disclaimer the views expressed in this article should not be considered as a substitute for a physicians advice please consult your treating physician for more details