Oral Health Link to Heart Trouble
2 April 2009, The Straits Times (Newspaper, English)
US tests find that heart patients had more bacteria in their mouths WASHINGTON People with the most germ infested mouths are the most likely to have heart attacks, United States researchers reported yesterday.
A study that compared heart attack victims to healthy volunteers found the heart patients had higher numbers of bacteria in their mouths, the researchers said. Their findings add to a growing body of evidence linking oral hygiene with overall health.
Dr Oelisoa Andriankaja and colleagues at the University at Buffalo in New York were trying to find out if any species of bacteria might be causing heart attacks.Their tests on 386 men and women who had suffered heart attacks and 840 people free of heart trouble showed that two types of bacteria- Tannerella forsynthesis and Prevotella intermedia- were more common among the heart patients. But more striking, the people who had the most bacteria of all types in their mouths were the most likely to have had heart attacks, they told a meeting of the International Association of Dental Research in Miami.
“The message here is that even though some specific periodontal pathogens have been found to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, the total bacterial pathogenic burden is more important than the type of bacteria,”said Dr Andriankaja who is now at the University of Puerto Rico. “In other words the total number of ‘bugs’ is more important than one single organism,” she said.
Doctors are not sure how bacteria may be linked with heart attacks but several studies have shown associations between gum disease and heart disease. In Singapore, while cardiac experts said that no local research had been carried out on the link between oral hygiene and heart problems, they said a connection could not be ruled out.
Dr Stanley Chia associate consultant at the National Heart Centre’s cardiology department said, that bacterial infection in general can cause changes to blood vessels, raising the risk of heart attacks. So, bacteria from the mouth could enter the bloodstream and possibly trigger a chain reaction leading to heart attacks, he said. And with four out of five adult Singaporeans believed to have some form of gum disease, the latest study may act as a reminder to brush up on oral hygiene.
As Dr Koh Chu Guan senior consultant at the periodontics unit of the National Dental Centre observed:” A lot of Singaporeans don’t visit a dentist and do not know about dental diseases.”
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