Dental disease is bad for the heart
People who do not brush their teeth at least twice a day are more likely to suffer heart disease, according to a study by researchers at University College London.
This is the first study to investigate whether the number of times an individual brushing your teeth is related to the development of heart disease. Previous work showed that the inflammation in the body, also in the mouth and gums, play an important role in the process of artery blockage.
The team led by Professor Richard Watt analyzed data on about 11,000 adults who participated in the Scottish Health Survey on lifestyle, such as whether they smoked or not, practiced physical activity or oral hygiene routines. Were asked how often these guys went to the dentist at least once every six months, every year or two, or rarely or never, and how often they brushed their teeth twice daily, once or less than once a day.
In another study, a team of nurses collected information from medical and family history of heart disease in these patients, blood pressure and blood samples from volunteers. These samples allowed the researchers determined the levels of inflammation were present in the body. The data collected in the interviews were related hospitalizations and deaths in Scotland until December 2007.
The results showed that oral hygiene habits were good, in general, six out of 10 (62%) of the participants, visiting the dentist every six months. Seven out of 10 (71%) individuals said they brushed twice a day.
After adjusting for known cardiac risk factors, such as social class, obesity, smoking and family history of heart disease, these researchers found that participants who had less frequent brushing had a 70 percent increased risk of heart disease than individuals of your teeth brushed twice a day, although the overall risk remained fairly low. Participants who remained poor oral hygiene also had markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and fibrinogen.
“Our results confirm and support the suggested association between oral hygiene and the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, markers of inflammation were significantly associated with simple measures of poor oral hygiene,” the authors, who are committed to making new experimental studies to confirm whether the observed association between oral health and cardiovascular disease is casual or simply a marker of risk “.