Daily brushing is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia later on, according to a recent study from the University of California.

The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society study included 5,468 people with an average age of 81, who were part of a retirement community in California between 1992 and 2010. Over the 18-year study period, 1,145 eventually developed dementia.

Researchers found that female study participants who didn’t practice daily brushing had a 65 percent greater chance of developing dementia than those who did. Similar though less pronounced results were found for the men,  those who didn’t brush daily had a 22 percent greater chance of developing the disease than those who kept up their dental habits.