Claim:

Poor oral hygiene over time can lead to an increased risk of heart disease

Fact:

Poor oral hygiene affects health but has no direct link to heart attacks, experts say

Teeth are an integral part of the human body, but they are often overlooked when analysing one’s health. That is, as long as one is free of any discomfort caused by tooth pain and the like. While assessing one’s heart health, rarely does anyone consider oral health. But occasionally the discussion about a link does come up. For example,  a user of the popular social media platform X claims that poor dental hygiene can cause heart diseases. 

The post has garnered 8699 views, 357 likes and 61 reposts. 

Do you know that poor dental hygiene can cause heart diseases?🌚

Bacteria can spread from your oral cavity to your blood, causing Infective endocarditis which is a life-threatening infection of your heart valves.

Take dental care seriously 🤲🏽
It’s not for the rich alone

— ERICA OF THE HOLY GHOST🔥 (@PiusErica) September 1, 2023

What is the fact?

Neglecting oral hygiene, like regular brushing, flossing, or annual cleanings by a dental doctor, can affect overall health but may not lead to serious cardiovascular issues. One plausible explanation says that poor dental hygiene proliferates gum bacteria causing gingivitis. 

“Researchers suspect that bacteria present in gum disease can travel throughout the body, triggering inflammation in the heart’s vessels and infection in heart valves,” says a blog published in Penn Medicine. 

“Research points to a link between gum disease and inflammation that can precede heart attacks, strokes, and sudden vascular events,” the blog adds. 

However, the exact nature of the cause-and-effect relationship is unclear.

“Inflammation can be linked to many different reasons and sources. That’s why it’s hard to definitively prove it’s just one thing,” says a quote in the blog attributed to Marietta Ambrose, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

Expert Speak

Dr Keshava R, Senior Director, Interventional Cardiology at Fortis Hospital in Bengaluru doesn’t see any direct connection between poor oral hygiene and a heart attack. The connection, according to him, can only be associative and very weak at that. 

“The only association is that of socio-economic strata and those from lower socio-economic strata would qualify as a population group, where oral hygiene could have an influence on heart health, since their brushing habits are questionable in that many do not brush even once a day,” Dr  Keshava R told First Check. 

The cardiologist said that “the hypothesis that oral bacteria make their way to the heart vessels and cause blockage  has lost traction.” 

“Today, the only consideration for a possible effect of poor oral hygiene on heart health is centred on inflammation of the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart, caused by bacteria from the mouth,” he said “However, this also is a possible speculation. The relationship of oral/ dental hygiene to cardiovascular disease is statistically not significant.“

Dr Keshava R said the high blood-sugar, blood pressure, smoking, and cholesterol buildup cases form 90% of the cases with heart disease. 

“Even in the remaining 10%, oral health examination for a heart patient does not figure,” he said. “The only instance when a heart patient is referred to a dental surgeon is when a valve-repair or replacement surgery is being done, since an infected tooth could spread the infection all the way to the heart”.

Also read: Explainer: What teeth whitening can and cannot do - First Check

(Do you have a health-related claim that you would like us to fact-check? Send it to us, and we will fact-check it for you! You can send it on WhatsApp at +91-9311223141, mail us at hello@firstcheck.in, or click here to submit it online)