Association between chronic dental infection and acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Introduction: In patients with cardiovascular diseases several risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and drinking habits, genetic disposition, and chronic inflammation must be considered. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between dental origin infections and the presence of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: A total of 125 patients who had experienced a myocardial infarction and 125 healthy individuals were included in this study. The oral examination was carried out following the consent of the ethics committee and the National Board for Radiation Protection and included the number of teeth, endodontically treated teeth, periodontal screening index (PSI), clinical attachment level, and radiographic apical lesions (radiograph examination). The medical examination included, among others, blood glucose level, C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels, and leukocyte number.

Results: The study demonstrated that patients with AMI exhibited an unfavorable dental state of health. After statistical adjustment for age, gender, and smoking, they exhibited a significantly higher number of missing teeth (P = .001), less teeth with root canal fillings (P = .0015), a higher number of radiologic apical lesions (P = .001), and a higher PSI value (P = .001) compared with individuals without myocardial infarction. The medical data showed a nonsignificant correlation between CRP and the number of radiologic apical lesions.

Conclusions: This study presents evidence that patients who have experienced myocardial infarction also exhibit an unfavorable dental state of health in comparison to healthy patients and suggests an association between chronic oral infections and myocardial infarction.