Download The Relationship between Periodontal Disease and

The Relationship between Periodontal Disease and
Coronary Heart Disease
Matthew J. Conquest
Department of Biology
Lake Superior State University
ABSTRACT
Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Recent research
has shown that there may be a bacterial connection to heart disease. The gingival damage
that is inflicted by periodontal disease provides bacteria with direct access to the blood
stream and therefore to the heart. The objective of this study was to determine if a
relationship exists between periodontal disease and coronary heart disease in Chippewa
County area dental patients over the age of 40. Surveys for collection of data were
distributed through four cooperating area dentist offices between the months of April and
November, 2000. Each patient over the age of 40 was asked to fill out and sign a copy of
the survey releasing their dental and medical information for the study. Using a Chisquared test with 3 degrees of freedom, the data demonstrated a statistically significant
correlation between periodontal and coronary heart disease. Of the 1046 patients who
completed surveys for this study, 239 patients had healthy gingiva or minor gingivitis
while 204 patients had severe periodontal disease. 2.51% of the surveyed patients with
healthy gingiva or minor gingivitis had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease while
17.16% of the surveyed patients with severe periodontal disease had been diagnosed with
coronary heart disease. The findings of this study suggest that periodontal disease is
correlated with coronary heart disease; patients with severe periodontal disease have an
approximately 6.5 fold increase in frequency of coronary heart disease.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
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Kinane, D., G. Lowe. 2000. How periodontal disease may contribute to cardiovascular
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Beck, J., R. Garcia, G. Heiss, P. Vokonas, S. Offenbacher. 1996. Periodontal disease and
cardiovascular disease. Journal of Periodontology. 67: 1123-1137.