Chronic Periodontal Disease Associates with Heart Infarction

Method: In 1985 we invited 3273 randomly selected subjects born between 1945-1955 in Stockholm area, to participate in dental examination. 1676 individuals attended and the number of remaining teeth, dental plaque index, gingival index, calculus index, and number of periodontal pockets were recorded. Of them, 286 were diagnosed having chronic periodonitis. In 2011 the data were combined with Swedish Heart Infarction Registry, diagnoses based on WHO International Classification of Diseases. Associations between heart infarction and dental parameters were studied using multiple logistic regression analysis with background variables and known risk factors for infarction. Age, gender, dental visits, education, income, socioeconomic status, working history, smoking, dental plaque, calculus, gingival bleeding, and periodontal disease indicated by extracted/extruded molars were the independent variables.

Result: By the year 2011, 29 subjects (8 women, 21 men) had got heart infarction. Oral health data of the 1676 subjects  showed significant difference between the 29 subjects with heart infarction  and the 1647 subjects without, regarding age, (p<0.05), number of missing teeth (p<0.05) and extracted/extruded  molars ( p>0.05). In multiple logistic regression models with infarction as dependent variable, in the subjects with chronic periodontitis, extruded/extracted first molar in the right maxilla (d. 16) appeared as the principal independent predictor associated with 5.52–times the odds for heart infarction. Other factors considered in the model exerted no significant independent influence on this variable.  

Conclusion: The results showed that chronic periodontitis indicated by extracted/extruded molars associated indeed with increased incidence of heart infarction.