Coronary Diseases Can Provoke Dental Problems
People suffering from heart disease have to pay attention to their health condition all the time. According to recent study, they should also check their dental health. They suggested that patients should report their dental health to their doctors to help foresee the risk of heart disease.
Ola Vedin from the Department of Medical Sciences at Uppsala University in Sweden is the lead author of the study. They looked at more than 15,000 adults from 39 countries across the globe with chronic coronary heart disease. 81 percent were male and 78 percent were Caucasians. The average age of the participants was 65 years old and 70 percent were former or current smokers.
The participants had at least one risk factor of coronary heart disease which are aged 60 or above, drug-treated diabetes, low levels of good cholesterol, previous or present smoker of at least five cigarettes a day, and kidney dysfunction. The researchers probed the medical history of the participants, conducted a physical exam, and looked into their blood samples.
They were asked to fill up a questionnaire about their lifestyle with questions regarding sex, age, race, smoking status, dental health, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and stress levels at home, work, and money. The participants of the study also reported how many teeth they have and if they experienced bleeding gums when they brushed their teeth.
The study suggested that 41 percent of the participants had less than 15 teeth left. 16 percent had no teeth left. 26 percent reported they experienced bleeding gums when they brushed their teeth.
The number of people who suffered from gum bleeding and tooth loss was different based on geographical location. Countries from Eastern Europe had the highest number of both tooth loss and bleeding gums.
Photo by Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator (Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator) [CC-BY-2.5], undefined
