Is There Proof Gum Disease Causes Heart Disease?
New Statement by the American Heart Association Stirs Controversy
April 18, 2012 -- Contrary to what had been "accepted" thinking by many, there is no conclusive evidence that gum disease causes heart attacks and strokes, or that treating gum disease will improve heart disease, according to a new scientific statement by the American Heart Association.
Gum disease is a major reason that adults lose their teeth. And in recent years, a growing number of studies have suggested that gum disease may pose other dangers to the body, too.
One theory holds that inflammation and infection that starts in the mouth can spread, causing more widespread trouble. Research has tied gum disease to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, stillbirths, and even Alzheimer's disease.
And a handful of studies, including one published in 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine, have even shown that aggressively treating gum disease may improve some indicators of blood vessel function.
But after reviewing more than 60 years of research on heart and gum disease, experts say that although the two problems are clearly related, it is unlikely that gum disease causes heart disease.
The American Heart Association's statement comes on the heels of a campaign by the Institute for Advanced Laser Dentistry to launch a national "Gum Disease Awareness Week."
"Oral health has a major impact on overall health, and mounting university research has linked gum disease to serious health concerns, including heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even stillbirths," Robert H. Gregg, DDS, president of the IALD, says in an April 11 news release.
The organization promotes laser treatment of gum disease, which it says on a Facebook page, "can hurt more than just smiles."
Researchers say statements like that may be jumping ahead of science, however.
"It was clear to everybody that there was a lot of confusion out there; a lot of conflicting scientific evidence. The public and the profession, both medicine and dentistry, had come to believe on the basis of the information that was out there that there was a direct connection between periodontal disease and [heart] disease," says researcher Peter B. Lockhart, DDS, chairman of the department of oral medicine at Carolinas Health Care System in Charlotte, N.C.
Experts: No Proof Gum Disease Causes Heart Disease
New Statement by the American Heart Association Stirs Controversy
April 18, 2012 -- Contrary to what had been "accepted" thinking by many, there is no conclusive evidence that gum disease causes heart attacks and strokes, or that treating gum disease will improve heart disease, according to a new scientific statement by the American Heart Association.
Gum disease is a major reason that adults lose their teeth. And in recent years, a growing number of studies have suggested that gum disease may pose other dangers to the body, too.
One theory holds that inflammation and infection that starts in the mouth can spread, causing more widespread trouble. Research has tied gum disease to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, stillbirths, and even Alzheimer's disease.
And a handful of studies, including one published in 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine, have even shown that aggressively treating gum disease may improve some indicators of blood vessel function.
But after reviewing more than 60 years of research on heart and gum disease, experts say that although the two problems are clearly related, it is unlikely that gum disease causes heart disease.
Statement Aims to Clear up Confusion
The American Heart Association's statement comes on the heels of a campaign by the Institute for Advanced Laser Dentistry to launch a national "Gum Disease Awareness Week."
"Oral health has a major impact on overall health, and mounting university research has linked gum disease to serious health concerns, including heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even stillbirths," Robert H. Gregg, DDS, president of the IALD, says in an April 11 news release.
The organization promotes laser treatment of gum disease, which it says on a Facebook page, "can hurt more than just smiles."
Researchers say statements like that may be jumping ahead of science, however.
"It was clear to everybody that there was a lot of confusion out there; a lot of conflicting scientific evidence. The public and the profession, both medicine and dentistry, had come to believe on the basis of the information that was out there that there was a direct connection between periodontal disease and [heart] disease," says researcher Peter B. Lockhart, DDS, chairman of the department of oral medicine at Carolinas Health Care System in Charlotte, N.C.
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