Tooth Loss and Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Several epidemiologic studies have suggested that oral disease is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, whether a clinically significant association exists between the 2 disorders remains controversial. Here, we investigated the association between tooth loss, as an indicator of oral disease, and arterial stiffness, as a marker of atherosclerosis, in Japanese adults. Cross-sectional data were collected for 8,124 persons aged 30 to 75 y with no history of tooth loss for noninflammatory reasons, such as orthodontic treatment, malposition, and trauma. Participants received a comprehensive dental examination and extensive in-person measurements of CVD risk factors, and arterial stiffness was evaluated using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). We examined the association between CAVI and tooth loss using general linear models with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, hemoglobin A1c, and a history of insulin or hypoglycemic medication depending on the model. In addition, we performed an analysis that included interaction terms of the centered variables tooth loss, sex, and age. The results of the multiple regression analysis that included the interaction terms detected that the relationship between CAVI and tooth loss was dependent on sex, with only men showing a positive correlation (β for interaction = 0.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.02–0.06). The findings from this study suggest that a linear relationship exists between tooth loss and degree of arterial stiffness and that the association differed depending on sex.

Occlusal support predicts tooth loss in older Japanese people

“…Deguchi et al reported that socioeconomic status, diabetes and dental visits were associated with tooth loss in a longitudinal study of 13 371 participants. Asai et al reported an association between tooth loss and the degree of arterial stiffness in 8124 participants. Muñoz‐Torres et al reported that tooth loss showed a modest association with peripheral arterial disease.…”

The Association Between Dental Status and Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Poles: Case-control Study

“…Most recently, a linear relationship between tooth loss and the degree of arterial stiffness that differed depending on sex was suggested [28]. In our study, OR of MI in patients with a large number of extracted teeth (> 10) was calculated at 4.2 (95% CI = 2.5-7.2) and remains significant after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, hypertension and diabetes (OR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.2-5.9).…”

Tooth loss is a complex measure of oral disease: Determinants and methodological considerations

“…Several studies have reported that having fewer teeth at baseline or losing teeth during study follow-up increases the risk of a range of adverse health outcomes. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] While there is growing interest in tooth loss as an epidemiological measure of dental status, valid inference from these studies requires an understanding of what is represented by tooth loss.…”