Good Smile, Healthy Brain?

Periodontal disease is an infectious disease causes my microorganisms resulting in the corrosion of tissues around the tooth surface and soft tissue lining the mouth, loss of connective tissue attachment, breakdown of bone that holds the teeth, and tooth loss [1]. The symptoms are bleeding gum (gingivitis), gingival pockets and bone loss (periodontal disease) leading to tooth mobility and eventually tooth loss. In the United States, periodontal disease is very prevalent and becomes more prevalent in aging populations. According to a recent survey in the United States, approximately half of adults have some level of periodontal disease and almost 10% of those have severe disease [2]. Periodontal disease is related to bacterial infection related systemic inflammation, which is implicated in the etiology of atherosclerosis leading to stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular disease [3]. Epidemiological studies have suggested a possible association between periodontal disease and stroke. The linkage is derived from cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies [4-16]. Analyses from recent, large-cohort study suggest a stepwise relationship between tooth loss, stroke, cardiovascular death, and allcause mortality in individuals with stable coronary artery disease [17]. If these relationships are in fact a direct, causal relationship, these associations would have great implication due to the potential of reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, including stroke, by preventing or treating periodontal disease.