Dentist Chair Gives Health Care Professionals Ability To Identify Heart Disease

Chicago, IL (AHN) - A new study indicates dentists can play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further evaluation.

Swedish dentists conducted the study around a computerized system, "HeartScore," to calculate the risk of a patient dying from a cardiovascular event within a 10-year period. The system designed by the European Society of Cardiology, easures cardiovascular disease risk in persons aged 40-65 by factoring the person's age, sex, total cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure and smoking status.

Patients with HeartScores of 10 percent or higher, meaning they had a 10 percent or higher risk of having a fatal heart attack or stroke within a 10-year period, were told by dentists to seek medical advice regarding their condition.

Twelve patients in the study, all of them men, had HeartScores of 10 percent or higher. All women participating in the study had HeartScores of 5 percent or less.

Of the 12 male patients with HeartScores of 10 percent or higher, nine sought further evaluation by a medical care provider who decided that intervention was indicated for six of the patients. While, physicians for three patients were not able to confirm their risk for cardiovascular disease.

All 200 patients enrolled in the study were 45 years of age or older with no history of cardiovascular disease, medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes and had not visited a physician during the previous year to assess their glucose, cholesterol or blood pressure levels.

However researchers note because of its high prevalence, poor oral health could be a substantial source of morbidity and mortality if there were truly a causal relation between poor oral health and cardiovascular disease.

According to a study of twins from the Swedish Twin Registry. Both tooth loss and periodontal disease were associated with a small excess risk of cardiovascular disease. Periodontal disease was also associated with a greater excess risk of coronary heart disease.

The study's authors conclude that oral health care professionals can identify patients who are unaware of their risk of developing serious complications as a result of cardiovascular disease and who are in need of medical interventions.

According to the study an association between oral and non-oral diseases, and with the possibility of performing chairside screening tests for diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, oral health care professionals may find themselves in a most opportune position to enhance the overall health and well-being of their patients.