Gum disease in childhood linked to deadly health condition as an adult, study finds

Adults who had gum disease as kids may be at a greater risk of developing heart disease as adults, a study suggests.

Cardiovascular disease – a group of conditions including high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, among others – is America’s biggest killer, claiming nearly 1 million lives every year. 

Lifestyle factors such as high-fat, sodium-heavy diets, obesity and a lack of exercise have consistently been linked to a rise in heart disease in recent years, but recent research is beginning to examine risk factors going all the way back to childhood.

In a new study, researchers in Denmark looked at over 500,000 people, examining 15 years’ worth of dental records and heart condition hospitalizations over the course of two decades. 

None of the participants had any form of heart disease as children, but the team found that regardless of sex, having gum disease or tooth decay in childhood was linked to up to 45 percent increased risk of suffering from heart disease later in life. 

Additionally, children whose dental health gradually worsened had the highest risk of suffering from heart disease in adulthood. 

The exact relationship between dental and heart health is still unclear, but experts suggest bacteria in the mouth travel through inflamed gum tissue or infected roots, moving into the bloodstream.

This may trigger inflammation in the blood vessels and contribute to fat buildup inside the arteries, key risk factors for heart attack and stroke.  

However, the study authors, from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, caution that the research is based on observational data and does not confirm that oral health directly causes heart disease. 

Just under half of US adults and children have some form of gum disease, the most common being a mild form called gingivitis. 

Gum disease is primarily caused by the buildup of plaque and tartar from poor brushing as well as smoking, hormonal changes and conditions like diabetes, as high blood sugar feeds bacteria in the mouth.

Heart disease is also increasing among young Americans. In 2019, 0.3 percent of adults in this age group had experienced a heart attack. By 2023, that figure increased to 0.5 percent—a rise of over 66 percent in just four years.

It means that one in five heart attack patients are now younger than 40.

The study, published in the International Journal of Cardiology, tracked 568,778 participants from two Danish health registries: a dental health database measuring children between 1972 and 1987 and a hospital database showing diagnoses for serious heart conditions between 1995 and 2018.

All participants were born between 1963 and 1972, had dental records on file and no history of heart disease at the start of the follow-up period. The researchers scored each child’s tooth decay and measured gingivitis severity on a 12-point inflammation scale. 

The average participant age in adulthood at the start of the study was 30. 

Throughout the follow-up period, about 10,000 men and 6,000 women were diagnosed with heart disease. 

The team found men with the most severe tooth decay as children had a 32 percent higher rate of developing heart disease compared to men with minimal decay. Women in the high-decay group had a 45 percent higher risk than the minimal group. 

The pattern was similar for gum disease. Men with the highest gingivitis score were 21 percent more likely to develop heart disease than those with the lowest scores. This increased risk was 31 percent for women. 

Additionally, women whose tooth decay worsened from moderate to severe during childhood had a 45 percent higher rate of heart disease in adulthood compared to those whose decay was consistently low. For men, this increased risk was 26 percent. 

There were several limitations to the study, including relying on registry data and not having access to individual lifestyle information and risk factors such as diet, smoking status and physical activity level.