According to a study on 48,000 males over the age of 22 that was published in the esteemed magazine Lancet Oncology, it was found that there seems to be a correlation between gum disease and an increased likelihood of getting oral cancer.
The obvious blame was first placed on smoking as a major factor for the two diseases but the study also determined that the likelihood of getting cancer because of gum disease was independent of a person’s smoking habit. Even when other factors were looked at, such as, diet and other risk factors, the gum disease factor still appeared as a separate cause for cancer.