Effect of periodontal diseases on cardiovascular system

Periodontitis can no longer be considered simply as a chronic localized infection that places only the dentition at risk, rather periodontitis is also significantly associated with several systemic conditions, including myocardial infarction, stroke and pre-term delivery. An association between the dental and other bacterial infections and coronary heart disease has recently been observed in both longitudinal and cross sectional studies. Although the underlying mechanisms linking these conditions remain largely unknown. New data have indicated that periodontitis can elicit a systemic inflammatory response by activating the hepatic acute phase response