Want to avoid arthritis? Then brush your teeth: Experts say bugs that cause gum infections also trigger the crippling joint pain

Brushing your teeth could prevent arthritis, new research suggests.

Bugs known to cause gum infections also trigger the crippling condition that blights the lives of many around the world.

Experts say the findings add to the evidence that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is linked to dental hygiene, a long-suspected theory.  

But the researchers warned that more than half of the participants who had RA had not been infected.

They say this may indicate other b

acteria in the gut, lung or elsewhere could be responsible for the joint pain.

Professor Felipe Andrade, of Johns Hopkins University in the US, said: 'This is like putting together the last few pieces of a complicated jigsaw puzzle that has been worked on for many years.

'If we know more about the evolution of both combined, perhaps we could prevent rather than just intervene.' 

The new findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, have important implications for prevention and treatment of RA.

The condition is caused when the immune system malfunctions and attacks cells, making joints stiff and painful.

More than 700,000 people in Britain suffer from the destroyer of soft tissue, cartilage and bone. It affects mainly, but not exclusively, the elderly.

Study leader Dr Maximilian Konig, now at Massachusetts General Hospital, said: 'This research may be the closest we have come to uncovering the root cause of RA.'