Mouth care reduces high blood pressure by 11 points

He who takes care of the mouth also takes care of the heart. This is indicated by a report published by the Italian Society of Periodontology and Implantology (SIdP), and by the Italian Society of Arterial Hypertension (SIIA), presented at the SIdP national congress. Not only is periodontitis associated with a higher risk of high blood pressure, a correlation proven for some time by a growing number of studies and still little known to doctors and patients, but periodontal care improves hypertension control, helping to reduce it significantly 11 points, more effectively than a low sodium diet which is still essential in addition to drug therapy.

Hypertension

“Hypertension affects 30 to 45% of the adult population, over 20 million people in Italy, and is among the main causes of death from heart attack and stroke. Similarly, periodontitis affects over 50% of individuals, more than thirty million in our country and is associated with a higher risk of suffering from high blood pressure which, in cases of severe periodontitis, can even double – he declares Nicholas Marco Sforza, president SIdP – To this interconnection between the two diseases, demonstrated by an increasing number of studies, is added new scientific evidence according to which the treatment of periodontitis helps to lower blood pressure levels by as much as 11 points, if the gingival bleeding with deep cleaning of the gingival pockets and correct oral, professional and home hygiene”.

The role of the gums

“The study reported by the SIdP and SIIA joint report considered 100 hypertensive patients with gum disease: 50 underwent supra- and subgingival hygiene, i.e. deep pocket cleaning and professional oral hygiene, and the other 50 in the control group underwent only a simple surface cleaning – explains Davide Pietropaoli, author of the study, coordinator of the SIdP SIIA practical guide and researcher at the University of L’Aquila – “After two months, in the supra and sub gingival hygiene test group, the periodontal treatment determined a benefit of 11 points less blood pressure, with double the effectiveness of the low sodium diet”.

“This evidence, he adds Luca Landi, past president SId, indicates that periodontitis makes the endothelial tissue that lines the arteries less elastic and therefore less able to adapt when the heart pumps, with a consequent increase in blood pressure. For this reason, adding the treatment of gum disease to the pharmacological strategy and the anti-hypertensive diet makes the therapy more effective and improves the management and control of high blood pressure”.

periodontitis

Hypertension and periodontitis share many risk factors: smoking, obesity, diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, recent experimental evidence indicates that periodontitis and hypertension have a common genetic basis, particularly in a large group of genes important for the immune system, supporting the fact that a chronic inflammatory condition is behind both pathologies. For this SIdP and SIIA have joined forces and developed a practical guide on correct diagnostic and treatment pathways and an information handbook with practical recommendations for cross-diagnosis and screening

“With a few simple questions about blood pressure, the dentist will be able to identify patients with gum inflammation with a higher risk of hypertension for whom blood pressure control is needed, inviting them to consult a specialist,” notes Sforza.

The cardiologist

“On the other hand, it is also of fundamental importance for the internist or cardiologist to include in the patient’s assessment some questions on the state of oral health that can represent a warning light for a potential risk of periodontitis – he adds Guido Grassipas president of the SIIA and president of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) – This simple evaluation can be very useful both in identifying people with a higher risk of hypertension and in the early diagnosis of this disease in those who do not know they have it”.

“For this reason, the projects that SIdP is carrying out in collaboration with other scientific societies in the medical area promote a holistic approach to the patient and aim to make the dental practice a global health hub” concludes Sforza.