The Perio-Cardio Connection
The Perio-Cardio Connection
In February I sent out a newsletter explaining the connection between periodontal (gum) disease and diabetes, a metabolic disorder involving how the body handles sugar and the complications resulting from that disorder. Diabetes compromises the healing capacity of the body and predisposes that person to periodontal disease. However, the converse is also true. Periodontal disease increases the vulnerability of that patient to diabetes by introducing additional bacteria into the body.
Periodontal disease leads to other systemic complications, most notably, heart disease. Those with a history of rheumatic fever or heart murmurs would know. The protocol for those patients prior to a dental prophylaxis (cleaning) is to pre-medicate with antibiotic so that bacteria which exist in the gums do not, as a result of the cleaning or extraction, penetrate through any openings in the gum and enter the blood system and travel to the heart where they can further damage the heart valves, possibly leading to Endocarditis (a heart infection) and even death.
The connection between periodontal and cardiac health, at one time considered possible, is now accepted knowledge. Not only are they connected, they are, in fact, interdependent and even genetically linked, as borne out by studies in Germany last year. In addition to diabetes, the two also increase a person’s risk to smoking and obesity.
Oral health and general physical health are no longer considered two separate and independent entities. It can be inferred that by treating gum disease early a person can lower his risk to heart disease and other systemic ailments.
