Gum Disease May Clog Your Arteries
The Roles of Periodontal Bacteria in Atherosclerosis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Bacteria from bad gums can travel through your blood and stick to artery walls, making them thicker and more inflamed, which can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
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Evidence Score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Bacteria from bad gums can travel through your blood and stick to artery walls, making them thicker and more inflamed, which can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 52 / 5
Evidence Score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Publication
Authors
Huang X, Xie M, Lu X, Mei F, Song W, Liu Y, Chen L
Related Content
Claims (7)
Bacteria from gum disease can escape from your mouth into your bloodstream and may help cause calcium buildup in your heart arteries and valves, which can lead to heart problems.
A gum bacterium called Fusobacterium nucleatum is found in clogged arteries and linked to higher bad cholesterol and inflammation in mice and people.
The bad bacteria in your gums can sneak into your bloodstream and make immune cells in your arteries turn into fatty foam-like blobs, which is a key step in clogging your arteries and raising heart disease risk.
A type of gum bacteria called Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is linked to more calcium buildup in arteries and higher levels of inflammation and bad cholesterol.
Having a certain type of gum bacteria called Porphyromonas gingivalis may be linked to worse heart disease — it seems to make plaque build up more in your arteries, damage the lining of your blood vessels, and cause more body-wide inflammation, which you can see in blood tests and artery scans.