The evidence linking periodontitis to heart disease originated from a Finnish study in 1989, which noted that patients who had heart attacks had more severe oral conditions including periodontal disease and tooth decay. Several studies since then have shown that pre-existing periodontal disease results in an increased risk for a heart attach or stroke. The first National Health and Nutrition Examination survey followed 9760 subjects for 14 years. It was found that individuals with periodontitis at baseline had a 25% greater chance of having coronary artery disease. After adjusting for age, gender, race, education, poverty index, physical activity, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking, men with periodontitis had a 1.72 fold greater chance of cardiovascular disease.

American Heart Association spokesman Dr. Richard Stein, who is also director of preventive cardiology at Beth Israel Medical Center, in New York City, said he “regularly counsels patients worried about their risk for heart attack or stroke to incorporate good periodontal care in their preventive strategies, just as they would include exercise, healthy diets and appropriate medications.”