Sometimes dental disease can have a negative impact on overall health. Terry Rees, professor of periodontics and director of the Stomatology Center at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, shares the following information on the link between periodontitis and heart disease.
Periodontal disease appears in a variety of different stages. The earliest stage is gingivitis, which is inflammation just at the surface of the gum tissue. Gingivitis is seldom painful and causes relatively minor symptoms such as red, swollen, bleeding gums and mild pus formation. If left untreated, the condition can advance to periodontitis, an infection that extends to the supporting bone. Patients with periodontitis develop deep pockets between the gums and teeth. Bacteria invade these pockets and from there can infect and destroy the underlying connective tissue and bone, loosening the teeth.
Gingivitis does not necessarily develop into periodontitis. You can have gingivitis all your adult life and not have periodontitis, but everyone who has periodontitis will have had gingivitis at some point.
There is a growing amount of information indicating that infections in any part of the body can contribute to heart disease. In the late 1980s, researchers found that more people who had periodontal disease had a higher incidence of heart disease than people of the same age and gender who did not have periodontal disease. Researchers also looked at patients with heart disease and found that a higher percentage of them had periodontal disease. We know that if you have heart disease, you are more likely to have periodontal disease and vice versa, but we can’t say definitively that periodontal disease can cause heart disease. We know there is a relationship. It’s about the equivalent of smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure, the things that are considered to be major risk factors for heart disease.
Prevention is certainly the best way to deal with periodontal disease,
and excellent oral hygiene is probably the cornerstone of prevention. We
tell patients who have periodontal disease that about 90 percent of success
or lack of success is up to them and about 10 percent is up to the dental
professional. Brushing and flossing are absolutely important, and it is
important to see a dentist periodically. The old standard is twice a year,
but someone who is susceptible to periodontal disease probably needs to
see a dentist every few months for deep cleaning or scaling and root planing.
Avoid risk factors that have been associated with periodontal disease,
the most important of which is smoking. Other risk factors include obesity,
high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. None of those things
causes periodontal disease, but they will cause an exaggerated response. 
This information is provided as a service by the Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry. If you have questions, contact your doctor, dentist or periodontist.
H.E.A.D.s Up is a monthly column that features articles on a wide array of Health, Exercise And Diet issues. Information for these articles is provided by health and wellness professionals from throughout the A&M System. If you have questions or story ideas for this column, email Ruth McMullan.