Study Explores Correlation Between Routine Periodontal Care and Clinical Outcomes After Myocardial Infarction

Findings from a study published in The Journal of the American Dental Association revealed that patients who had an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and received periodontal maintenance care had the shortest length of stay in the hospital, and more follow-up visits. Moreover, the longest duration of hospitalization was experienced by those who did not receive dental care.

Lead author Romesh P. Nalliah, DDS, MHCM, Associate Dean for Patient Services at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and colleagues indicated that there is an augmented risk of hospitalization for AMI for those with periodontal disease. However, there is a lack of knowledge about care of AMI and how this varies with periodontal care status.

In this retrospective cohort study, Nalliah et al sought to assess the correlation between periodontal care and AMI hospitalization and 30 days after acute care. Researchers employed the MarketScan database to identify patients with both dental insurance and medical insurance in 2016 through 2018 who were hospitalized for AMI in 2017.

Researchers discovered 2,370 patients who fit the study criteria. Of those, 47% received regular or other oral health care, 7% received active periodontal care (root planing and periodontal scaling) and 10% received controlled periodontal care (maintenance). More than 36% did not have oral health care before they were hospitalized after a AMI.

After adjusting for patient characteristics, researchers found that patients in the controlled periodontal care group were significantly more likely to have visits during the 30 days after AMI hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.47; P = .02). There was no statistically significant difference between the other groups (active periodontal care and regular care) compared to the group that did not receive dental care.

The authors indicated that findings from the study did not establish a causal relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease, but research like this provides a greater understanding with regard to the association between oral health and overall health.

The authors concluded that periodontal care was associated with more after AMI visits which suggests that there is a benefit to integrating oral health care and medical care to improve AMI outcomes.

Lastly, the authors wrote, “ Needing periodontal care is associated with more favorable outcomes related to AMI hospitalization. Early intervention to ensure stable periodontal health in patients with risk factors for AMI could reduce downstream hospital resource use.”

Reference

Romesh P. Nalliah, Tanima Basu, Chiang-Hua Chang. Association between periodontal care and hospitalization with acute myocardial infarction. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 2022; 153 (8): 776 DOI: 10.1016/j.adaj.2022.02.003