The link between gum disease and heart disease is real. What isn't proven is that one directly causes the other.
You may have seen headlines saying gum disease causes heart attacks. That's stronger than the evidence allows. But there is a real connection, and it's one more reason to take your gums seriously. Here's the honest picture.
What the Research Shows
A joint workshop of the European Federation of Periodontology and the World Heart Federation reviewed the evidence in 2020. Their consensus report found a significant body of evidence linking severe periodontitis with cardiovascular disease, with associations that hold up independently of the usual shared risk factors. In plain terms, people with serious gum disease are more likely to have heart and circulatory disease, and not only because they share habits such as smoking.
Why Might They Be Linked?
Several explanations are being studied. Gum disease is a long-term inflammation, and inflammation elsewhere in the body is tied to cardiovascular disease. Bacteria from inflamed gums can also reach the bloodstream. And both conditions share risk factors: smoking, diabetes and age. Researchers are still working out how much each of these contributes.
What We Can't Say
We can't tell you that treating your gums will prevent a heart attack. That hasn't been shown, and anyone who claims otherwise is ahead of the evidence. What we can say is that gum disease is worth treating for its own sake: it's a major cause of tooth loss in adults, it can be controlled, and keeping inflammation down in your mouth does you no harm anywhere else.
What We Do About It
At your first exam we check your gums properly with a BPE gum score, and we follow it up at recalls. If there's disease, we treat that first, before any bigger work, which is the point of our gums first approach. We also need your medical history. If you have a heart condition or take blood thinners, tell us, because it changes how we plan gum treatment.
What You Can Do
Brush twice a day, clean between your teeth daily, and don't ignore bleeding gums. If you smoke, remember that your gums may not bleed even when disease is active. A regular hygiene visit is £77 for 20 minutes or £105 for 30. And if you're worried about your heart itself, that's one for your GP, not your dentist.
Source: Sanz M et al., Periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases: Consensus report, Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 2020 (European Federation of Periodontology and World Heart Federation workshop).