Evidence Summary: The relationship between oral and cardiovascular disease

This paper reports on one review of four rapid reviews undertaken to explore the relationships between oral health and general medical conditions, in order to support teams within Public Health England, health practitioners and policy makers. This review aimed to explore the most contemporary evidence on whether poor oral health and cardiovascular disease occurs in the same individuals or populations, to outline the nature of the relationship between these two health outcomes and to discuss the implication of any findings for health services and future research. The review was undertaken by a group comprising consultant clinicians from medicine and dentistry, trainees, public
health and academics. The methodology involved a streamlined rapid review process and synthesis of the data. The results identified a number of systematic reviews of low to high quality, which suggests that there is fairly robust evidence that there is an increased risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease [ASVD] among individuals with chronic periodontitis, independent of other established
cardiovascular risk factors. And some evidence that the incidence of caries and tooth loss is higher in patients with cardiovascular disease, whilst orofacial pain presents as the sole symptom of stroke in some patients. The findings are discussed in relation to implications for service and future research.