More and more, patients and practitioners are realizing that good at-home oral health habits are important for more than just nice-looking teeth. Keeping teeth healthy and clean is also important for maintaining good heart health.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Periodontology, people with periodontal disease are at a higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease than those with healthy gums. The study found that study participants with gum disease had higher levels of harmful bacteria in the bloodstream – up to four times more than study participants with healthy gums.
Columbia University researchers looked at three forms of bacteria common in patients with gum disease and found that patients with one or any combination of the three bacteria also had hardening of the arteries.
These are just two examples of dozens of ongoing studies that continue to link good oral health with good heart health.
Patient education is key in this area, since the average patient will simply assume that brushing and flossing teeth is only essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Incentive to be more proactive at brushing and flossing may increase should patients have a better understanding of how their oral health affects their overall health, including the link between periodontal health and heart health.
It’s a simple formula – good oral care can help maintain a healthy heart.
Researchers analyzed the data from the 1999 to 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing telephone survey operated by state health agencies with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study was conducted based on 41,891 adults aged 40 to 79 years old in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
Study participants who still had all of their natural teeth, 4.7 percent had heart disease.
From there, risk of heart disease increased dramatically. Those who were missing one to five teeth were 21 percent more likely to have heart disease. Heart disease increased by 60 percent among those missing six to 31 teeth, and by 81 percent among those with no remaining natural teeth.
The results of this study join the growing body of research linking gum disease and tooth loss with an increased risk of heart disease.
More Research Regarding the Relationship Between Oral Health and Cardiovascular Health
Study Links Hypertension, Periodontal Bacteria
The hundreds of bacteria in the human mouth are there for a reason. Many of them are completely innocuous bacteria that like the conditions of the human mouth – it is, after all, warm, dark and wet, which are ideal conditions for growing many types of bacteria.
A handful of the bacteria in the mouth help support the health of teeth and gums. Another handful of bacteria found in the human mouth can be harmful not only to oral health, but to the health of the body as a whole.
Researchers believe that the true link between oral health and heart health lies in the balance of those bacteria.
A recent study published in the May 5, 2010 edition of the Journal of Hypertension revealed that those with significantly higher levels of periodontal bacteria in plaque samples of those with hypertension.
Seven investigators from Columbia University, the University of Miami, the University of Minnesota, and the French School of Public Health collected 4,533 subgingival plaque samples from 653 patients enrolled in the Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST). They analyzed the samples for the presence of 11 different species of periodontal bacteria, including Actinomyces naeslundii and Prevotella intermedia.
The researchers, led by Moise Desvarieux, M.D., Ph.D., found that the odds ratio for prevalent hypertension was 3.05 among the patients in the highest tertile of bacterial burden compared to those in the lowest tertile.
The team found that, after adjusting for conventional risk factors, the mean systolic blood pressure increased significantly with increasing cumulative bacterial burden, at 136, 138, and 143 mmHg for the first, second, and third tertile, respectively (p = 0.0004). The diastolic blood pressure also increased significantly, at 77, 79, and 81 mmHg, respectively.
The prevalence of hypertension was 57%, 62%, and 68%, respectively. This translated into more than threefold higher odds of hypertension between the third and first tertiles; after further adjustment for white blood cell count and titer of hs-CRP, this rose to 3.93. The increase between the first and third tertiles in both hypertension and diastolic blood pressure was more than twice as large for men as for women, while the increase in systolic blood pressure was nearly three times as large in men.
Good at-home oral health habits are important for more than just nice-looking teeth. Keeping teeth healthy and clean is also important for maintaining good heart health.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Periodontology, people with periodontal disease are at a higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease than those with healthy gums.
The study found that study participants with gum disease had higher levels of harmful bacteria in the bloodstream – up to four times more than study participants with healthy gums.
Researchers at Columbia University School of Public Health found similar results, reinforcing doctors’ longstanding belief that periodontal health is directly linked to cardiovascular health.
Columbia University researchers looked at three forms of bacteria common in patients with gum disease and found that patients with one or any combination of the three bacteria also had hardening of the arteries.
Patient education is key in this area, since the average patient will simply assume that brushing and flossing teeth is only essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Incentive to be more proactive at brushing and flossing may increase should patients have a better understanding of how their oral health affects their overall health, including the link between periodontal health and heart health.
It’s a simple formula – good oral care can help maintain a healthy heart.
Cardiologists to Examine Mouths & Periodontists to Question Patients About Heart Health
In July 2009, cardiologists and periodontists combined their research and published a consensus paper in the American Journal of Cardiology (AJC), a publication circulated to 30,000 cardiologists, and the Journal of Periodontology (JOP), the official publication of the American Academy or Periodontology (AAP).
This paper paves the way for cardiologists to examine a patient’s mouth and periodontologists to collect heart history information from their patients.
In addition to the clinical recommendations, the consensus paper summarizes the scientific evidence that links periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease and explains the underlying biologic and inflammatory mechanisms that may be the basis for the connection.
The paper confirms that cardiologists and periodontists agree that inflammation – the way the body naturally fights infection, injury and invasion of pathogens – can turn into a chronic condition that can cause serious health problems.
The True Connection Between Heart Health and Periodontal Disease
Cardiac Heart Health Influenced by Oral Health
Researchers in both the cardiac health and dental health fields have confirmed that periodontal disease is a known precursor to heart disease, and they know the common link – bacteria.
The bacteria that is responsible for destroying the health of both gums and teeth – Streptococcus mutans - eventually breaks down gum tissue far enough that that it is able to break through the gums and enter the blood stream, where it causes inflammation and causing atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
Bacteria at the Heart of Heart Disease?
Absolutely. Studies link New Study Confirms Periodontal Disease Linked to Heart Disease also show that treating periodontal disease before it becomes advanced is the first line of defense in protecting the heart from the potential harm of the bacteria of the mouth.
Who Says Bacteria Affects Heart Health? WHO!
These figures are backed by major health organizations. In fact, the World Health Organization says that cardiovascular disease accounts for 29% of deaths worldwide and that it ranks as the second leading cause of death after infections and parasitic diseases.
The American Heart Association has reported that atherosclerosis, a major component of cardiovascular disease, affects 1 in 4 persons and contributes to 39% of deaths annually in the United States.
How Do We Effectively Battle These Bacteria?
Current dental procedures to address periodontal disease include the painful, invasive practice of “scaling” teeth below the gum line in an attempt to clean the pathogenic bacteria out of the deep periodontal pockets that surround each tooth. Unfortunately, the success of this procedure rests solely on which bacteria recolonizes the pocket first – beneficial or pathogenic.
Researchers in Florida have created a combination of three probiotics that have shown the ability to effectively compete for space and nutrients with the pathogenic bacteria connected to periodontal disease and tooth decay. As an added benefit, this combination of probiotics naturally and safely freshens breath while gently whitening teeth.
