Cardiovascular Disease & Diabetes

Clinical studies suggest a correlation between periodontal (gum) disease contributing to an increased risk of presenting with other concerning general health conditions including cardio vascular disease and an increased risk of stroke. Patients with Periodontitis have a 2.5 to 9.5 fold increased risk of development of cardiovascular disease compared to equally aged patients without periodontitis. The increased risk is thought to occur though two basic methods:

The increase in atheroma (fatty deposits in the artery wall) formation rate due to the chronic inflammatory nature of Periodontitis. The white blood cells in the area of the gum infection produce chemical messengers which get into the blood stream and drive the uptake of cholesterol into the artery walls. Treatment of Periodontitis has been shown to reduce these chemical messenger levels.

Bacteria can get into your blood stream (bacteraemia) and these can lodge on the fatty artery walls. These bacteria can initiate blood clot formation and can also invade the artery wall. DNA from bacteria has been isolated from fatty artery walls in most patients who died of a heart attack or stroke.