Summary

The role of periodontal disease in the etiology of heart disease has recently received much attention. Periodontal disease, caused mainly by bacteria, is characterized by inflammation, bacteremia, a strong immune response and loss of connective tissue attachment and bone. It is speculated that a continuous long-term exposure of oral bacteremia and bacterial toxins induce immune responses which may contribute to coronary atherogenesis, and, in conjunction with other risk factors, may lead to coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Periodontal disease may initiate pathological changes in blood vessel walls and act as precursor of atherosclerosis in susceptible hosts. Many causal factors may play a role in heart disease. Periodontal disease caused by pathogen bacteria as a low grade inflammation may represent one of several possible causal factors for heart diseases to occur