Tooth Loss Predicts Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, Stroke, and Death

We investigated whether oral health, represented by missing teeth, was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), stroke, and all-cause mortality. Subjects who underwent routine dental examinations and health checkups provided by the Korean National Health Insurance from 2007 to 2008 ( n = 4,440,970) were followed up for incident MI, HF, stroke, and death until 2016. During follow-up of 7.56 y, 68,063 (1.5%) subjects died, and 31,868 (0.7%) were admitted for MI, 22,637 (0.5%) for HF, and 30,941 (0.7%) for stroke. Cardiovascular events and mortality increased in proportion to tooth loss. Tooth loss was an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events after multivariable analysis adjusted for cardiovascular risk, behavioral, and income factors. Each missing tooth was associated with an approximately 1% increase in MI (HR, 1.010; 95% CI, 1.007 to 1.014), 1.5% increase in HF (HR, 1.016; 95% CI, 1.013 to 1.019) and stroke (HR, 1.015; 95% CI, 1.012 to 1.018), and 2% increase in mortality (HR, 1.022; 95% CI, 1.020 to 1.023). Having ≥5 missing teeth substantially increased risk for cardiovascular outcomes, and even a small number of missing teeth (1 to 4) was associated with an increased risk for MI, stroke, and death. This association was consistent in subgroup analyses and especially strong among the younger subjects (age <65 y) and those with periodontitis. In this large Korean nationwide cohort study, we found that tooth loss showed a dose-dependent association with incident MI, HF, ischemic stroke, and all-cause death and was a good predictor of cardiovascular outcome. In clinical practice, the number of missing teeth can aid physicians in discriminating patients with a higher cardiovascular risk.