Adults who have lost teeth due to nontraumatic reasons may have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a presentation at the American College of Cardiology Middle East Conference 2019 together with the 10th Emirates Cardiac Society Congress. The conference is October 3-5 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death of men and women in the United States, and previous studies have linked cardiovascular disease with oral disease. Oral disease is an inflammatory disease that frequently causes tooth loss due to the breakdown of periodontal tissue.

The causal association between oral disease and cardiovascular disease is not well known, so researchers in this study conducted a secondary analysis of the 2014 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System that looked at tooth loss not caused by trauma, as well as cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, angina and/or stroke.