He who takes care of the mouth also takes care of the heart.
Periodontal treatment improves hypertension control, helping to reduce it by as much as 11 points, more effectively than a low-salt diet which is still essential in addition to drug therapy.
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.
"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 - declares Nicola Marco Sforza, President of SIdP - To this interconnection between the two diseases, demonstrated by a number more and more studies, new scientific evidence is added according to which the treatment of periodontitis helps to lower blood pressure levels by as much as 11 points, if gingival bleeding is reduced by 30% with deep cleaning of the gum pockets and correct oral hygiene,professional and home".
"The study reported by the joint SIdP and SIIA report considered 100 hypertensive patients with gum disease: 50 who underwent supra- and subgingival hygiene, i.e. deep pocket cleaning and professional oral hygiene, and the other 50 in the control group who 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, adds Luca Landi, past president of 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. pharmacological strategy and the antihypertensive diet cure gum disease, make therapy more effective and improve the management and control of high blood pressure".
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.
"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 - adds Guido Grassi, pas president of the SIIA and president of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) - This simple assessment 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"
