Study finds severe tooth loss linked to increased risk of heart disease

Severe tooth loss that generally happens in old age is now not just a dental issue but is linked to the higher risk of dying from stroke or other heart disease. Several studies have broadly defined the link between losing one or more teeth and an increased risk of cardiovascular and heart diseases.

Poor oral health is known as a risk factor for several heart diseases. It sounds like a strange connection, but it is possible that poor oral hygiene or tooth loss could let pesky pathogens penetrate the gums, causing infections that flow slowly into the circulation and cause inflammation, which may affect the heart. But there are many other factors like smoking, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure levels that play a vital role in the increased risk of heart diseases.

Therefore, it is difficult for researchers to establish a legitimate connection between tooth loss and cardiovascular diseases. According to some studies, there is no connection, the association between tooth loss and cardiovascular diseases disappeared when smoking was factored into a 2018 analysis, while other studies suggested there is a connection through evidence.

There is an attempt to clear some of these contradictions through a new analysis focusing on severe tooth loss, collecting data from 12 already published studies that each tracked CVD and oral outcomes for the age between three and forty-nine years.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Also Read|NASA issues sudden alert as massive asteroid rushes to come too close to Earth at scary speed|

Anita Aminoshariae, a dental researcher and endodontist at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, says, “Our findings clearly show that tooth loss is not just a dental issue, but a significant predictor of cardiovascular disease mortality.”

The analysis found that people who had lost most or all of their teeth are at a 66% risk of getting severe heart-related issues and are at a high risk of dying through these diseases as compared to those who had not lost teeth or lost only a few.

This connection varied far from the five studies conducted on people who had fewer than ten teeth remaining, than the studies that looked at people with no teeth left at all. However, the higher risk of dying through cardiovascular disease for people who lost rough or more than 22 teeth remained evident.

Also Read|Chinese scientists find a new way to control obesity in a breakthrough discovery|

All the 12 studies included in the analysis are adjusted for age and smoking status, and 10 out of them are found to have at least five surprising factors that are associated with CVD risk.On getting these factors tested to check whether they will affect their results, the risk continued, "confirming the impact of [severe] tooth loss on CVD mortality," Anita Aminoshariae and colleagues wrote in their published paper in the Journal of Endodontics.

This observational studies analysis only pointed towards the connections, and not direct causes, the analysis suggests that the risk of CVDs could partly be addressed by improving oral health. Aminoshariae and her colleagues conclude by saying, "Thus, saving teeth and keeping an optimal oral health cannot be underestimated.”

The study has been published in the Journal of Endodontics.

(With inputs from agencies)