Patients with hyperlipidemia are in the focus of interest because of a possible interplay between chronic local oral infections and hyperlipidemia resulting in a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this interventional clinical follow-up study was to evaluate oral inflammatory status of hyperlipidemic patients receiving lipid lowering therapy and the effects of combined periodontal, endodontic and dentoalveolar surgical treatments on oral health, serum CRP level and lipid markers related to cardiovascular risk.
Method:
All patients and controls underwent dental examination (clinical examination, X-ray, microbial examination of sub- and supragingival plaque samples), which was followed by a combined therapy including periodontal, endodontic and dentoalveolar surgical treatments in patient group. Serum CRP and lipid parameters were checked on admission, 1-week and 3-months, sub and supragingival plaque samples were checked on admission and 3 months after finishing dental treatments.
Result:
After 3-months of follow-up, the clinical periodontal characteristics, including plaque index, gingival index and periodontal probing depth decreased significantly (p<0.05). There was a significant shift from the pathogenic microflora on admission to the non-pathogenic microflora after treatments both in sub and supragingival plaque samples (p<0.05) accompanied by a significant reduction in the serum C-reactive protein level (p<0.05) considered to be an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Significant reduction was found in serum cholesterol level and moderate improvements was detected in serum triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein levels (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
In this study improvement of oral health resulted in normalization of sub and supragingival plaque flora and a decrease in CRP and cholesterol levels, representing a smaller risk of cardiovascular diseases and beneficial effect on the therapy of patient with hyperlipidemia.