The higher the level of mouth bacteria, the greater the chance of heart attack

April 2, 8:32 AMColumbia Health Care ExaminerJan Louthain

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For some time now, researchers have thought there was a connection between dental hygiene and the incidence of heart disease, but the results of a study at the University of Buffalo (UB) have confirmed it now.

Dr. Oelisoa M. Andriankaja, a postdoctoral researcher conducted the study in UB’s Department of Oral Biology in the School of Dental Medicine. The study included 386 men and women between the ages of 35 and 69 who had suffered a heart attack and a control group of 840 people who were free of heart trouble. Samples of dental plaque were taken from all study participants and analyzed to check for the presence of six types of peridontal bacteria. In addition the researchers looked at the total number of bacteria present.

Although the study showed that two species of bacteria were significantly related to heart disease, Tannerella Forsynthesis and Preventella Intermedia, the most significant finding was that the patients who had suffered heart attacks had a higher level of all bacteria than the control group.

According to Andriankaja, "the total number of ‘bugs’ is more important than one single organism.” The results of the UB study will be presented at the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) held in Miami, Fla this week.