Periodontitis and cardiovascular disease: a review of shared risk factors and new findings supporting a causality hypothesis.

Periodontitis is a common chronic disease worldwide. It is a major cause of tooth loss among adults and recently has been suggested to increase the risk for developing several systemic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Populations are not equally affected by periodontal disease because there are several environmental and host factors modulating susceptibility. Cardiovascular disease shares many of the same susceptibility factors. The purpose of this report is to identify risk factors and indicators common to periodontitis and cardiovascular disease, and also to discuss their possible interrelationship in this association. Recent findings to support a causal association between the 2 conditions are also presented.