by raji

Created on: August 21, 2010   Last Updated: August 23, 2010

How to prevent heart disease with good oral health

Good oral health is essential for a overall good health. A lot of oral diseases are linked to systemic diseases and certain health problems can lead to diseases in the oral cavity. Maintaining proper oral hygiene is a prerequisite for a good health.

There is an established link between heart disease and dental infections. Even a simple dental infection can lead to a heart disease. Usually a tooth decay which is ignored and left untreated can lead to the decay spreading to the pulp (portion of teeth with blood vessels and nerves) and the next stage would be infection spreading to the roots and then  the jaw bone structure underlying the tooth. Infection from here enters the main blood stream because this site is a rich harbor of blood vessels. Once the infection reaches the blood stream, it can reach the heart valves leading to bacterial endocarditis.   So recognizing and treating dental decay in the initial stages is essential.

Certain periodontal(gums and thin bone surrounding teeth) diseases have been proved to spread the infection to the blood stream which in turn leads to the infection causing gram negative bacteria to build up thick plaque within the coronary artery walls thereby causing a block in the arteries,  consequently can lead to a heart attack. So maintaining a good periodontal health becomes a necessary factor.Having a regular dental examination and cleaning is a basic step in preventing gum disease and thereby periodontal disease. Bleeding gums or “loose tooth” can be a warning sign for periodontal disease.A proper treatment to these conditions is to be taken by the advise of a periodontist.

After a tooth extraction, care should be taken and proper antibiotic administration is needed . Otherwise a consequential infection can enter the blood stream causing a heart disease. Extraction site could  be a harbor for many bacterias and viruses;so maintaining the extraction site after extraction is important.Gargling thoroughly with water /saline can help prevent infections in the extraction site.

People with previous heart attacks, rheumatic heart diseases, prosthetic heart valves,  previous heart surgeries and congenital heart disease need to be proactive to maintain their oral health and inform their dentist before starting any of the procedures because they need to be on a proper prophylactic antibiotic coverage to avoid further heart disease or infections like bacterial endocarditis.

Learn more about this author, raji.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.