British foundation links dental hygiene and flu

The British Dental Health Foundation is warning that bad oral hygiene could increase the spread of the H1N1 flu, according to the Bucks Herald newspaper.

Surveying Britons about their dental habits, the foundation found many picking their teeth with whatever they found lying around, including fingernails, credit cards, paperclips, screw drivers, earrings, and screwdrivers, the newspaper reported.

That's a perfect way to introduce pathogens into the body, said the foundation's chief executive, Nigel Carter. "Hygiene warnings have been made clear ever since the swine flu outbreak, and it is worrying that these habits have been revealed as the numbers affected by flu steadily rises," he told the Bucks Herald.

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