August, 1997

Link Between Heart Disease and Periodontal Disease

The following article is from the November, 1996 issue of" Dental Economics"

The important information is in the third paragraph (highlighted). Gum disease has been shown to cause other problems, the most serious being heart disease. If you know of someone who seems to have the signs of gum disease, outlined in a previous tip, stress them the importance of seeing their dentist.

A four-year, $2.2 million grant has been awarded to the University of North Carolina (UNC) by the National Institute of Dental Research to better define the link between periodontal disease and heart disease. The study will enable researcher to explore, in detail, the underlying responses common to both diseases.

By tapping into an ongoing study at UNC, researches will be able to examine markers of periodontal disease in 14,000 individuals already receiving heart disease testing. The dental researchers will then compare these periodontal markers with clinical measures of heart disease-the occurrence of heart attack, stroke and death; and ultrasound measurements of carotid-vessel thickening, the researcher hope that these comparisons will uncover the biological association between dental disease and heart disease.

Several previous studies have shown that individuals with severe periodontal disease are more likely to develop heart disease than are people without gum problems. One study even suggested that individuals with severe periodontal bone loss may have twice the risk of fatal coronary heart disease as normal individuals, after controlling for other relevant risk factors.

Part of the link between periodontal disease and heart disease my lie with harmful bacteria that colonize the mouth. The investigators theorize that certain types of these bacteria, which clump together in sticky masses (plaque) and cause periodontal disease, also activate white blood cells to release harmful clotting factors and proteins that contribute to heart disease and stroke.