Gum Disease and Heart Disease: Understanding the Connection

Each year, February is American Heart Month, a time to emphasize heart health awareness. As an oral care practice, New York Dental Health participates in American Heart Month by spotlighting the link between heart disease and periodontal disease, commonly known as gum disease. 

There’s a statistical connection between the presence of gum disease and the risk of heart attacks, sudden vascular events, and strokes, and since about half of all adults in the United States have some level of gum disease, it's significant. 

To raise awareness this February, we’re here to explore the connection between your mouth and your heart, and how you can best care for both. 

Bacteria and inflammation

While we know there’s a connection between gum disease and heart disease, the exact basis for this link isn’t understood. Research points to two aspects of gum disease that potentially interact with your heart. 

Bacterial infection is a driving force behind gum disease. When plaque and tartar gain the upper hand in your mouth, they can create pockets between gums and teeth roots, which are normally connected. 

These pockets serve as an ideal environment for bacteria that feed off the plaque and food scraps that inhabit your mouth, and it’s no longer easy to remove signs of infection because of the protection these pockets provide. 

Bacterial metabolism creates inflammation, leading to swollen gums, bleeding, and pain. By weakening gum tissue, periodontal disease opens a pathway for infection into the body, spreading the effects of inflammation. 

Arterial plaque and gum disease

Gum disease may be a contributor to inflammation in blood vessels. High cholesterol also produces a by-product called plaque, and though it’s different from the substance in your mouth, oral bacteria can often be found in arterial plaques. 

Plaque in arteries leads to a condition called atherosclerosis, which can have two poor outcomes: reduce blood flow through crucial locations, possibly causing heart attacks, or break off and form clots that result in strokes when they block blood flow to the brain.  

Oral infection and the heart

With active gum disease, you have a source of infection that can enter the bloodstream, giving it access to the rest of your body. For people who have heart valve disease, there’s additional vulnerability from blood-borne bacteria or infection. 

Treating gum disease in its early stages, called gingivitis, is easy to reverse with improved attention to brushing and flossing at home, as well as aggressive cleaning at our offices combined with regular cleanings at six-month intervals. 

You benefit from fewer oral health problems, and you may be protecting yourself from heart attack and stroke. 

Contact New York Dental Health at any of our seven locations. Book your appointment online or by phone to combat gum disease now.