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Abstract
Periodontal disease is characterized by a chronic infection and inflammation in the periodontal tissue leading to destruction of the bone surrounding the teeth and may finally end in tooth loss.
Cardiovascular disease such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction occur due to a complexity of genetic and environmental factors. The genetic factors include age, lipid metabolism, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and increased fibrinogen levels. Environmental factors include socioeconomic status, stress, diet and smoking. The classical risk factors of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and cigarette smoking can only account for one-half to two-thirds of the cardiovascular disease cases. Among other possible risk factors, evidence linking chronic infection to cardiovascular disease has been accumulating. The fact that chronic infection is one of the characteristic features of periodontal disease is of special interest in this context as recent studies demonstrated that periodontal disease may increase systemic levels of inflammatory mediators and therefore may contribute to inflammation-associated atherosclerosis. Because of the proximity of the pathogens to vascular beds, bacterial and inflammatory host molecules may access the circulation through the epithelial layer whose integrity may be compromised by the infectious and inflammatory process.