Clinical Significance
Even a few missing teeth may increase the risk of CVD. General medical practitioners may be able to use the number of missing teeth as an indicator of a need for referring patients for more in-depth medical evaluation.
InquiryMissing teeth and cardiovascular disease risk
Section snippets
Background
Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the periodontium that involves both bacterial activity and tissue destruction they cause in the body responds. An association has been found between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD), with periodontitis recognized as a CVD risk factor. This disorder and systemic inflammation have an additive effect on the development of diabetic complications, a likely result of insulin resistance exacerbation. Tooth loss is associated with a risk
Methods
The data were gathered in the National FINRISK 1997 Study, which is a survey of 8446 subjects with 13 years of follow-up. Dental status was determined based on a clinical examination by a trained nurse. National registers were used to obtain information about incident CVD events, diabetes, and death. The specific CVD events noted were coronary heart disease events, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke.
Results
Higher levels of several CVD risk factors were directly associated with the number of missing teeth at baseline. Age, educational years, body mass index, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, male sex, existing diabetes, and a parent having either diabetes or acute myocardial infarction were directly related to the number of teeth that were missing. No significant trends were noted for systolic blood pressure, gamma-glutamyl transferase, or
Discussion
Adding information on missing teeth to data on established risk factors significantly improved the determination of the risk of death among the subjects studied. The number of missing teeth may indicate a higher risk for CVD, diabetes, and all-cause mortality.
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Liljestrand JM, Havulinna AS, Paju S, et al: Missing teeth predict incident cardiovascular events, diabetes, and death. J Dent Res 94:1055-1062, 2015
Reprints available from JM Liljestrand, Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Univ of Helsinki, Biomedicum Helsinki I, Haartmaninkatu 8, PO Box 63, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland; e-mail: [email protected]
Copyright © 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc.