I’m not so good with all the medical study type lingo. What is this report really saying re relationship of dental & cardiac health? Significant relationship or not?
Perio disease and cardiac conditions: association or coincidence?
I think this excerpt from the article sums it up nicely:
“…dentists still have no clear guidance with regard to the potential relationship between periodontal and cardiac health.”
In other words, “Is there a significant relationship? We dunno.”
Another way to think about it is that correlation does not necessarily mean causation. It may be that there is a high correlation between people who have periodontal disease and people who have cardiac problems. It doesn’t necessarily follow that one condition causes the other. One COULD cause the other, but we don’t even know which is the cause and which is the result. Or, they may both accompany some other unknown condition or circumstance. They may both be the result of some third factor. Statistically, correlation that reaches a certain level does tend to lend itself to interpretation of causation, but even that is not proof. xo C.
Didn’t read that entire long-assed article, but I can say one thing:
There is someone sitting not 3 feet from me right now who has two badly damaged heart valves as the result of an abcessed tooth. Infection traveled, manifested as bacterial endocarditis, and he now has a permanent cardiac condition that will eventually require surgery.
Anecdotal.
The findings could also mean that people who neglect their teeth also neglect their general health care.
Or that people who can’t afford regular medical care are equally unable to pay for a dentist.
OK, I looked at that article. I’m an epidemiologist, so it speaks (kinda poorly) in a language I’m familiar with.
The article dates from 2001, and was written by a non-scientist (technical writer) summarizing a symposium on conflicting results of epidemiologic research. Not an easy task, and no surprise that the symposium punts at the end. This is an ongoing research question, and it’s one that has not yet provided clinical guidelines or established recommendations for practice.
I’d like to point out that this is not my field of expertise, and I don’t keep up with the literature on the detal/cardiac connection in much detail. However, I do know that this is an energetic field of study, and that new studies are coming out, and have come out since the above summary was, well, summarized.
It’s past midnight, and I don’t really want to go to PubMed and look up citations for new studies. But if anyone else does, it’s free. Key words would be epidemiology, periodontal, cardiovascular, incidence, prospective, and cohort. Might throw meta-analysis in just for giggles, not sure if there are any good meta-analyses there yet.
As far as bringing the epi reasearch down to individual-level recommendations, that’s always a bit tricky. It’s not so much that you should maintain good periodontal health in the hopes that it will reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. More, that you should be the kind of person who already maintains good periodontal health, and either that, or something else you’re also doing, or some combination, will hopefully reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Clear as mud, right?
Please remember, IANAMD. I am not offering medical or dental advice. I am only qualified to translate wacky population-based resarch on things that really matter into something approaching the english language. Hope it helps.
Thanks!