Gums also a Heart Attack risk

Gums also a heart attack risk: expert By Danny Rose, AAP August 13, 2009, 7:42 am

 

Another major contributor to your heart attack risk is right under your nose, a visiting expert says. Professor Greg Seymour, Dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Otago in New Zealand, says our mouths play an often under-appreciated role in overall wellbeing. "Studies have linked poor oral health with cardiovascular disease (CVD), poor glycemic control in diabetes together with a number of other diseases," Prof Seymour says. "The relationship between oral and general health has become a serious issue." About 50,000 Australians die every year from CVD - which includes plaque build-up in the arteries (atherosclerosis) as well as heart attack and stroke. It is the nation's leading cause of death yet, Prof Seymour says, about half of the people who develop CVD don't have its common risk factors - such as a poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking. "The question is why?" Prof Seymour says. "There may be additional risk factors that are important and infection - including oral infections - may be these additional risk factors." Prof Seymour says without proper care the mouth can act as a source of "systemic inflammation" for the body. Research shows how people with tooth loss from long-term severe gum disease - periodontitis - were more likely to show signs of artery-related disease. One hypothesis was the inflammation could result in the expression of certain proteins that the immune system mistakes for foreign invaders, causing negative reactions within the arteries as the body attacks itself. "People with severe chronic periodontitis have been reported to have a significantly increased risk of developing CVD," Prof Seymour says. About 20 per cent of Australians have gingivitis - inflammation of the gums - and a further 20 per cent have its more severe form periodontitis. Prof Seymour, who will stress the importance of oral health at an event in Sydney on Thursday, is calling for doctors and health policy makers not to overlook the key role played by the mouth. "Health professionals should identify oral health as a significant health issue," he says. "(And) it is important for patients, particularly those with CVD, to be referred to ... get proper dental treatment."

Source: The West Australian 13 Aug. 09

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