Influence of periodontal disease on cardiovascular diseases.

UNLABELLED

Periodontal medicine defines a rapidly emerging branch of periodontology focusing on the wealth of new data establishing a strong relationship between periodontal health or disease and systemic health or disease. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the evidence for an association between periodontal infections and cardiovascular disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Literature and data on periodontal diseases and their links to cardiovascular disease. Medline and Pub-Med search. Review of relevant information and data.

RESULTS

There is increasing evidence that individuals with periodontal disease may be at higher risk for adverse medical outcomes, including cardiovascular disease. A number of studies to date indicate that this increased risk appears to be independent of other known behavioral and medical risk factors and also appears to be related to the severity of periodontal disease. This article evaluates the inflammatory mechanisms of periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease and examines the potential role of local inflammation in systemic inflammatory disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Periodontal diseases may be risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.