Study Links Heart Disease to Dental Problems
August 27, 2004
People with heart disease are more likely to have dental problems that people without heart disease, according to a Finnish study.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki and Kuopio University Hospital compared dental information on 256 people with severe heart disease and 250 people without heart disease (the control group). The study found that people with heart disease had fewer teeth (9) than people in the control group (17). People with heart disease also were more than three times as likely as the people without heart disease to have gingivitis (early stage gum disease).
The researchers also found that the patients with heart disease had more prevalence of oral inflammation in their bloodstreams. They also had more antibodies that have been linked in some studies with an increased risk of heart disease.
James Kuhar, D.D.S., a Colorado Springs dentist and active member of the statewide Oral Health Awareness Colorado! Coalition, said the studies strongly suggest a link between oral disease and coronary heart disease. "I recommend that individuals who have coronary artery disease should have an oral health examination. Inadequate nutritional intake is also a problem. People who don’t have teeth can’t chew their food well and therefore don’t get heart-health fiber and nutrients," he said
Research on the association of dental disease and heart disease is ongoing. Some studies suggest that the bacteria that cause dental disease may enter the bloodstream and contribute to other diseases or infections. For example, a U.S. study published in the summer of 2003 found that people with fewer natural teeth had more severe periodontal disease and were more likely to have clogged carotid arteries, the major blood vessel that brings oxygen to the brain.
This oral Health Tip comes from Oral Health Awareness Colorado!, a coalition of federal, state and community organizations formed to develop the state’s first formal oral health plan aimed at improving the general health of Colorado residents.