Researchers have found an increased risk of coronary heart disease for people younger than 60 who have more than 4 mm of alveolar bone loss from periodontal disease. Participants with coronary heart disease had an increase of periodontal disease indicators compared to the group without coronary heart disease. “Alveolar bone loss was recently found to be the periodontal variable that had the strongest association to coronary heart disease,” said Dr. Karen Geismar, University of Copenhagen. American Academy of Periodontology president Preston D. Miller, DDS, said, “This is one of the many studies suggesting that the spread of bacteria and bacterial products from the periodontal lesion to the bloodstream may contribute to coronary heart disease.” It is still uncertain whether or not the association between the two is causal.
(Source: American Academy of Periodontology, Sep 26, 2006)
