Researchers at Columbia University published in the Journal of the American Heart Association showing how improved gum health is linked to significant slower progression of atherosclerosis, a condition when the artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of calcium and fatty materials.

The Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study examined 420 participants at the average age of 68 years old and followed up. After a median of three years, all of the participants underwent oral infection exams, from several teeth and under gums, as well as artery thickness exams. The results showed that improved gum health and reduction of the 11 strains of bacteria linked to periodontal disease are correlated to a decreased progression of atherosclerosis.

"These results are important because atherosclerosis progressed in parallel with both clinical periodontal disease and the bacterial profiles in the gums. This is the most direct evidence yet that modifying the periodontal bacterial profile could play a role in preventing or slowing both diseases," says lead author Moïse Desvarieux, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia's Mailman School of Health.

The results did not change considerably when adding factors like body mass index (BMI) cholesterol levels, diabetes, and smoking. Increases in artery thickness, in previous studies, have been linked to more than double the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Animal studies have shown that bacteria can increase inflammatory markers which can trigger or worsen the inflammation in atherosclerosis.

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Additional Resource:

Desvarieux, M., Demmer, R. T., Jacobs, D. R., Papapanou, P. N., Sacco, R. L., & Rundek, T. (2013). Changes in clinical and microbiological periodontal profiles relate to progression of carotid intima‐media thickness: the oral infections and vascular disease epidemiology study. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2(6), e000254.