Invasive dental procedures may raise the risk for heart attack and stroke, according to a new study.
Researchers examined the records of approximately 1,200 dental surgery patients, finding an increased incidence of cardiovascular events in the period just after the procedures.
The scientists, who published their findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that the patients had a significant but slight increase in cardiac events after their procedure; the risk decreased six months after the surgery.
Eighty-nine percent of the patients, whose median age was 67, had at least one tooth pulled and about 25 percent had two to four procedures with an average of 57 days between procedures. The remaining 75 percent underwent one procedure.
The relationship may exist because of the increased amount of bacteria in the bloodstream after a dental surgery, according to the researchers.
Thomas Jefferson University cardiologist Dr. Howard Weitz, who authored an editorial about the study, said that the purpose was to determine whether there’s a link between cardiovascular events and periodontal procedures, not a cause-and-effect relationship.
The researchers concluded that it’s important to weigh the risks of an ongoing oral infection, which can be a pathway for bacteria to enter the bloodstream, versus the short-term elevation in heart attack and stroke risk after dental surgery.
