Bacteria from gum disease can sometimes show up in your bloodstream, which means they might travel around your body — but just because they’re there doesn’t prove they’re causing heart artery clogging.

45

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

45

Community contributions welcome

45

Presence of periodontal pathogenic bacteria in blood of patients with coronary artery disease

Cross-Sectional Study

Human

2022 Jan 24

Scientists found bacteria from gum disease in the blood of people with heart disease, which suggests these germs can travel from the mouth to the bloodstream — but they didn’t prove the bacteria directly cause heart disease, just that they’re there.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Presence of periodontal pathogenic bacteria in blood of patients with coronary artery disease

Score: 45

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05337-1

Similar Assertions

Scientists think that when several mouth bacteria that cause gum disease show up together in clogged arteries, they team up to make the inflammation worse and the plaque more likely to break loose—like a gang causing more trouble than one person alone.

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