Gum Treatment Can Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes

Over the last decade many studies have been carried out that show a strong link between periodontal (gum) disease and cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes). Several thousand patients have been assessed who have never had a heart attack or a stroke and it has been found that the patients with gum disease also had signs of atherosclerosis, a process that causes narrowing of the arteries due to a build-up of material on the inside of their walls. Research has also shown that this link between gum disease and atherosclerosis is especially the case in the carotid arteries (in the heart) and the arteries of the brain. When the arteries of the heart or brain narrow, less blood flows through them resulting in less oxygen being delivered and eventually causing either a heart attack or stroke respectively. As well as this, the material that builds up on the inside of the walls can either weaken the artery, causing an aneurism (a localized, blood-filled balloon like bulge) or break off and get stuck in other blood vessels, causing thrombosis.

No one knows exactly why the two diseases are linked but most experts believe that the bacteria that cause periodontal disease actually enter the bloodstream (this is made easier because the gums are inflamed and easily bleed when they are affected by gum disease). Once inside, they either attach directly to the inside of the arteries to make them narrower or activate the immune system to cause inflammation of the artery walls.

It is clear that periodontal disease does not cause heart disease. However, people with periodontal disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as those without it. By trying to prevent gum disease or at least treating so that it does not progress, people can help to reduce the chances of suffering from a heart attack or stroke.