Severity of Periodontal Disease and Number of Remaining Teeth Are Related to the Prevalence of Myocardial Infarction and Hypertension in a Study Based on 4,254 Subjects

Background: During the past 15 years, mounting evidence for the association between periodontal and cardiovascular disease has been presented in epidemiological studies. The aim of this study was to investigate how the severity of periodontal disease and number of remaining teeth relates to myocardial infarction (MI) and hypertension (HT). Methods: Self‐reported history of HT and MI was collected in 3,352 patients referred to the Department of Periodontology, Gävle County Hospital, and in 902 subjects randomly selected from the general population. Severity of periodontitis was estimated by a combination of the amount of bone loss around each tooth investigated from a full‐mouth x‐ray, the presence or absence of bleeding on probing (BOP), and involvement of furcations. Results: The severity of periodontitis was significantly associated with HT (prevalence 16%; P