RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERIODONTAL DISEASE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) encompass a wide variety of conditions that can affect the heart and circulatory system. Periodontitis is an infectious disease that causes inflammation and destruction of tissues and can progress to tooth loss, potentially causing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators into the bloodstream, resulting in systemic inflammation. This is an integrative literature review with a qualitative approach. The articles were selected from the LILACS, SCIELO, and PUBMED databases. The literature indicates that the presence of periodontal bacteria can trigger a series of harmful events that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Among these events are changes in endothelial integrity caused by endotoxins, bacteremia, alterations in plasma protein metabolism, and blood coagulation, as well as changes in platelets that promote platelet aggregation. Periodontal disease (PD) is highly severe and is shown to be one of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, with studies indicating its interrelationship between periodontal and cardiovascular diseases through inflammation mediators, especially in the case of atherosclerosis.