Infected Gums Can Harm the Heart

Periodontal treatment improves blood flow, study finds.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
Wednesday, February 28, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In a study that strengthens the link between chronic gum infection and cardiovascular problems, researchers said treatment of severe periodontal disease was associated with improved blood flow and more elasticity of arteries.

The study, conducted with patients at the Eastman Dental Hospital in London, England, included 120 people with severe periodontitis, a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth.

Interestingly, the immediate result was an increase in inflammation among the patients who received intensive treatment for the gum condition. There was no such reaction among patients whose condition was treated less vigorously.

"However, six months after therapy, the benefits in oral health were associated with improvement in endothelial function," the researchers reported.

The endothelium is the delicate inner lining of the blood vessels. The improvement was shown by expansion of blood vessels that allowed better blood flow and by molecular markers of endothelial health, the researchers said.

For example, the researchers reported that the arteries of those getting intensive treatment were 2 percent wider six months later than those getting ordinary treatment, an improvement they described as "significant."

"The degree of improvement was associated with improvement in measures of periodontal disease," the study said.

The findings are published in the March 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"This study adds a lot to a growing database that there is some sort of link" between periodontal disease and cardiovascular risk, said Dr. Preston D. Miller Jr., president of the American Academy of Periodontology.

The study "increases the link between local inflammation and inflammation of the coronary vessels that is extremely important," added Miller, clinical professor of dentistry at the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry.

The study findings call for more research to determine the effects of specific periodontal treatments on blood vessel function, he said.