(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
PERIODONTITIS or gum disease may be an indicator for hypertension in otherwise healthy individuals.
This is the conclusion of a study based on data from a British registry that found those with serious gum disease were more likely than those with healthy gums to have elevated blood pressure.
The study was conducted for TCTMD which provides training and education across the spectrum of cardiovascular disease research and practice. (TCT stands for Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics.)
The study included 250 adults diagnosed with severe gum disease. A control group of 250 adults without severe gum disease or chronic health conditions were included in the study.
The median age of participants, 52 percent of which were women, was 35 years. Blood pressure was taken three times for each participant.
The study found that adults who had periodontitis (a severe and chronic form of gum inflammation) were more than twice as likely to have higher blood pressure, according to tctmd.com.
The study did not account for other factors that might affect blood pressure, such as abdominal obesity, salt intake, use of anti-inflammatories or hormone treatments, stress or other types of oral health problems.
After adjustment for age, body mass index, sex, ethnicity, smoking, physical activity and family history of cardiovascular disease, greater severity of gum disease was associated with higher mean systolic blood pressure, according to tctmd.com.
“This study expands current knowledge on the association between periodontitis and elevated blood pressure, pointing at the importance of this link in the generally healthy population,” says Dr. Eva Muñoz Aguilera of the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London.
“Oral health professionals could play a pivotal role in helping the medical community detecting and tackling the burden and consequences of hypertension,” she writes in the medical journal Hypertension.
It raises the association between gum disease, hypertension and inflammation, says Dr. Sidney C. Smith Jr. of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).
“It certainly should lend support to the importance of closer collaborative working relationships between the dentist, cardiologist, internist and others who are responsible for the patient’s medical care,” says Dr. Smith commenting on the study.
He says that although the study is well done and includes an ethnically diverse sample, there remain factors that are important contributors to hypertension but may not have been accounted for.
“It’s very important to pay attention to the comorbidities that may be present in patients with periodontal disease, such as diabetes,” Dr. Smith says.
“But there is an association here between periodontal disease and hypertension that’s very important for patient care and also should be a stimulus for further research into possible causal relationships.”
***
Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, former Dean of the College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists and Honorary Life Member of Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.)/PN
