Periodontitis and Number of Teeth in the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: An Updated Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: A positive link between periodontitis and chronic systemic disease has been indicated. However, few studies focused on the loss of teeth. Our analysis aims to analyze the relationship of periodontitis and number of teeth with the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). MATERIAL/METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted on qualified data extracted from the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Only cohort studies were included in this study. We screened articles that assessed the periodontal condition and teeth number as well as the incidence or mortality of CHD. Hazard ratio (HR) and relative risk (RR) were calculated by Stata SE software. RESULTS: A total of 11 prospective studies with over 200 000 total participants were analyzed. Ten studies reported on periodontitis and CHD, and 4 studies included data on number of teeth. After adjusting for multivariate factors, there was a significant association between periodontitis and the risk of CHD (RR, 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10–1.26); the RR of CHD in the edentulous population was 1.20 (95% CI, 1.08–1.34). Moreover, results on the RR values for number of teeth were as follows: 24–17 teeth (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05–1.19); 16–11 (RR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.15–1.42); and ≤10 (RR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.43–1.69). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that periodontitis is a risk factor for CHD and that the number of removed teeth is positively correlated with the risk of CHD. During clinical assessment, both factors need to be considered as factors associated with cardiovascular risks.