14 DAY TRIAL // According to a new investigation by experts in the United Kingdom, it would appear that bacteria responsible for causing plaque can escape from the mouth, make their way into the bloodstream, from where they increase a person's risk of suffering from a heart attack.
The conclusion belongs to a team led by University of Bristol professor Howard Jenkinson, who will hold a presentation on the issue today in Nottingham, at the annual meeting of the Society for General Microbiology.
The work seems to indicate the regular tooth brushing, mouth washing and flossing are the only ways of preventing this from happening.
“Poor dental hygiene can lead to bleeding gums, providing bacteria with an escape route into the bloodstream, where they can initiate blood clots leading to heart disease,” Jenkinson explains.
He adds that streptococcus bacteria are the most dangerous, saying that numerous species of the microorganisms generally live in the mouth.
The bacteria are generally confined in small communities inside biofilms, and they play a major role in promoting the development of gum diseases and tooth plaque.
Once inside the bloodstream, Streptococcus uses on its main weapons, the proteins PadA, to promote the binding of blood platelets to each other.
This leads to the formation of blood clots, which eventually set the stage for heart attacks.
“When the platelets clump together they completely encase the bacteria", the team leader adds.
“This provides a protective cover not only from the immune system, but also from antibiotics that might be used to treat infection,” says Jenkinson, whose team also collaborated with colleagues from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).
“Unfortunately, as well as helping out the bacteria, platelet clumping can cause small blood clots, growths on the heart valves (endocarditis) or inflammation of blood vessels that can block the blood supply to the heart and brain,” the researcher goes on to say.
The team believes that the discovery carries some good news as well. In the near future, using blocking agents to counteract the effects of PadA could reduce the incidence of heart attacks in the general population.
“We are currently investigating how the platelet-activating function of PadA can be blocked. This could eventually lead to new treatments for cardiovascular disease which is the biggest killer in the developed world,” Jenkinson concludes.