The occurrence of dental caries is associated with atherosclerosis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:Previous studies have suggested that marginal periodontitis is a risk factor for developing atherosclerosis. The objective of this study was to determine whether caries may also be associated with atherosclerosis.METHODS:The computed tomography data sets of 292 consecutive patients, 137 women and 155 men with a mean age of 54.1±17.3 years, were analyzed. Caries were quantified based on the number of decayed surfaces of all the teeth, and periodontitis was quantified on the basis of the horizontal bone loss in the jaw. The presence of chronic apical periodontitis (CAP) was assessed, and the aortic atherosclerotic burden was quantified using a calcium scoring method.RESULTS:The patients with <1 caries surfaces/tooth had a lower atherosclerotic burden (0.13±0.61 mL) than patients with ≥1 caries surfaces/tooth. The atherosclerotic burden was greater in patients with a higher number of lesions with pulpal involvement and more teeth with chronic apical periodontitis. In the logistical regression models, age (Wald 49.3), number of caries per tooth (Wald 26.4), periodontitis (Wald 8.6), and male gender (Wald 11) were found to be independent risk factors for atherosclerosis. In the linear regression analyses, age and the number of decayed surfaces per tooth were identified as influencing factors associated with a higher atherosclerotic burden, and the number of restorations per tooth was associated with a lower atherosclerotic burden.CONCLUSION:Dental caries, pulpal caries, and chronic apical periodontitis are associated positively, while restorations are associated inversely, with aortic atherosclerotic burden. Prospective studies are required to confirm these observations and answer the question of possible causality.

The Osteological Paradox 20 Years Later: Past Perspectives, Future Directions

“…Periodontal disease is associated with a highly elevated risk of all-cause mortality (DeStefano et al 1993), and it is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, respiratory infections, cancer, diabetes mellitus, renal disease, and numerous other poor health outcomes (Li et al 2000;Williams et al 2008;Ylostalo et al 2006). Dental caries is associated with such adverse health conditions as cardiovascular disease, asthma, liver disease, and poor growth (Acs et al 1999;Glodny et al 2013;Johnston and Vieira 2014). Periodontal disease and dental caries may be causally related to diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory infections by affecting systemic inflammatory cytokine levels and via the spread of infectious pathogens from the oral cavity to other parts of the body (Beck and Offenbacher 2005;Joshipura et al 2006;Lombardo Bedran et al 2013;Loos 2005;Meyer et al 2008;Paju and Scannapieco 2007;Watts et al 2008).…”

Association between apical periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review of the literature

“…One of them, however, did not show significance following multivariable analysis (Glodny et al . ). The quality assessment showed a lack of high‐quality longitudinal studies investigating the association between AP and CVD.…”

“…, Glodny et al . ). Periodontitis is a known risk factor for CVD and is a potential confounder that may be responsible for the positive association between AP and CVD in some studies, as it was not controlled (Oikarinen et al .…”

“…Two of the five included cross‐sectional studies were awarded six or more stars (Glodny et al . , Costa et al . ) and one received only two stars (Aleksejuniene et al .…”

Relationship between dental caries and metabolic syndrome among 13 998 middle‐aged urban Chinese

“…9 An association between periodontal disease and dyslipidemia, 10 diabetes, 11 and cardiovascular disease 12 has been suggested. 17 Several studies have shown that dental caries and associated bacteria may elicit a potent T helper (T h ) 1 immune response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and promote CD8 + T cell responses, 18 and T h 2 and T h 17 cell responses were shown to be positively associated with increased risk of insulin resistance. 13,14 Moreover, dental caries is associated with obesity and insulin resistance.…”