Can oral health problems? cause a heart attack or other illness?

New links seen: There is an emerging body of evidence that poor oral heath can increase the body's overall inflammation - this inflammation may manifest as an increased propensity to clot which may cause or worsen heart attacks and may underlie/worsen other ailments. Of course, these studies only show a correlation and bad oral health may simply be a marker for poorer health overall - this is being investigated.

Dr Walsh and another doctor agreed

Possibly: We don't have all the answers yet but there are more studies that link oral health with overall health than studies that don't show a link between the two. The basic theory of the oral/systemic health link is that chronic inflammation in the mouth can release certain chemicals into your bloodstream that trigger changes in the lining of arteries making clots stick or send bacteria to other organs.

No way to know: Epidemiologic studies that rely on people's answers and people's behavior are prone to generating correlations not related to cause-and-effect. A person who takes good care of their oral health is more likely to take good care of their heart and vice versa; this would seem the simplest explanation for the severity of gum disease correlating with heart attack risk.

Dr Ivanov agreed

Check: With both your internist and your dentist. There is a very strong connection. Better to prevent disease!