Poor toothbrushing habits linked to increased heart risk
American Heart Association
Brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.
Previous studies have found a link between heart disease and periodontal disease, a condition marked by gum infection, gum inflammation and tooth damage.
The new study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions meeting, looked at whether a person’s toothbrushing habits were associated with their risk of having or dying from a heart attack, heart failure or stroke.
The researchers asked 682 people about their toothbrushing behavior. After adjusting for several factors, they found that those who said they brushed less than twice a day for less than two minutes had a three-fold increased risk compared to those who said they brushed at least twice a day for at least two minutes.
Dr. Shogo Matsui, lead researcher on the study, said the findings suggest that "poor oral health, based on daily tooth brushing behavior, is associated with poorer heart health."
It’s possible that longer tooth brushing reduces this risk, but the new study was not designed to prove cause and effect, said Matsui, a researcher at the Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences at Hiroshima University in Japan.
Boxplots of systolic blood pressure (SBP) in treated US hypertensive adults aged ≥30 years with and without periodontitis: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009 to 2014.
Dr. Ann Bolger, a cardiologist and professor of medicine emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, agreed that the observational study had limitations.
"People who are very attentive to their dental health may also be very attentive to other aspects of their health," said Bolger, who was not involved in the research.
Still, Bolger said science supports a potential connection between dental health and heart health. Gum disease is one of the diseases "where the body can be in a sort of continuous state of inflammation, and this seems to be a very powerful predictor of cardiovascular disease," he said.
A separate study published last month in the journal Hypertension found that gum disease appears to worsen blood pressure and interfere with medications to treat hypertension.
Poor dental health also poses a risk for people with heart valve problems, Bolger said.
"I spend an inordinate amount of time talking to (heart valve patients) about their teeth because we know that certain heart valve infections can be associated with poor oral health," he said. This latest research "is a good reminder that the mouth is an important part of a person’s overall health and simple, daily behaviors that improve health are incredibly important."
The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste.
"It’s a low-risk, low-cost option that we know has other benefits even beyond the scope of what this study is trying to investigate," Bolger said. "There’s no reason not to recommend that someone do this."
