Is Periodontal Disease a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)?


Is Periodontal Disease a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)? FULL TEXT • Chris Lavelle, DDS, DSc, FRCPath, FRCD(C), MBA • A b s t r a c t Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the principal cause of death in most developed countries, despite significant preventive and therapeutic advances. Current epidemiological data imply that recent reductions in the prevalence of this disease are unlikely to be sustained until those at high risk are more precisely targeted. Although dental (especially periodontal) infections have been recently identified as independent risk factors for CAD, current evidence is insufficient to justify treatment of such infections to arrest or reverse CAD or other systemic conditions (e.g., diabetes mellitus, stroke or adverse outcomes of pregnancies). MeSH Key Words: coronary disease/etiology; periodontal diseases/complications; risk factors Reply to this article \| View replies [0]

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