Your gums are not only important for maintaining healthy teeth, they are now recognised as having an important impact on many serious health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, premature birth and pneumonia. If you or your loved ones have a family history of heart disease here is what you need to know about your gums and how they can affect your heart. What is gum disease? Gum disease is the number 1 cause of tooth loss in Australia. Gum disease is caused by a bacte