Worried About Your Health? Visit Your Dentist More Often

The Oral Health/Heart Health Connection

Worried About Your Health? Visit Your Dentist More Often

A recent study published in the journal Health Economics revealed that regular dental check-ups could reduce the risk of serious medical conditions by a third.

The study, led by a University of California, Berkeley, researcher could give women a little extra motivation to visit their dentist more regularly. The study suggests that women who get dental care reduce their risk of heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular problems by at least one-third.

While the analysis, which used data from nearly 7,000 people ages 44-88 enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, did not find a similar benefit for men, however, dental experts are still urging male patients to take good care of their teeth and gums.

The study compared people who went to the dentist during the two years leading up the study, with data relating to those who had not visited the dentist during the previous two years.

The findings add to a growing body of research linking oral and cardiovascular health.

“Many studies have found associations between dental care and cardiovascular disease, but our study is the first to show that general dental care leads to fewer heart attacks, strokes, and other adverse cardiovascular outcomes in a causal way,” said study lead author Timothy Brown, assistant adjunct professor of health policy and management at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health.

The fact that men and women did not benefit equally from dental care did not completely surprise the researchers. “To my knowledge, previous studies in this area have found that the relationship between poor oral health and cardiovascular disease markers varies by gender, but none have examined differences between men and women with regard to actual cardiovascular disease events,” said Brown, who is also associate director of research at UC Berkeley’s Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets & Consumer Welfare.

“We think the findings reflect differences in how men and women develop cardiovascular disease,” said study co-author Dr. Stephen Brown, a first-year obstetrician/gynecologist resident at the West Virginia University Charleston Division School of Medicine. “Other studies suggest that estrogen has a protective effect against heart disease because it helps prevent the development of atherosclerosis. It’s not until women hit menopause around age 50 to 55 that they start catching up with men.”