Study Suggests Dentists Can Identify Patients at Risk for Fatal Cardiovascular Event

Study Suggests Dentists Can Identify Patients at Risk for Fatal Cardiovascular
Event

CHICAGO, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new study indicates dentists can
play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at
risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further
evaluation.

Published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dental
Association, the study followed 200 patients (101 women and 99 men) in private
dental practices in Sweden whose dentists used a computerized system,
"HeartScore," to calculate the risk of a patient dying from a cardiovascular
event within a 10-year period.

Designed by the European Society of Cardiology, HeartScore measures
cardiovascular disease risk in persons aged 40-65 by factoring the person's
age, sex, total cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure and smoking status.

Patients with HeartScores of 10 percent or higher, meaning they had a 10
percent or higher risk of having a fatal heart attack or stroke within a
10-year period, were told by dentists to seek medical advice regarding their
condition.

Twelve patients in the study, all of them men, had HeartScores of 10 percent
or higher. All women participating in the study had HeartScores of 5 percent
or less.

Of the 12 male patients with HeartScores of 10 percent or higher, nine sought
further evaluation by a medical care provider who decided that intervention
was indicated for six of the patients. Two patients did not follow the
dentist's recommendation to seek further medical evaluation and one patient
was only encouraged by his dentist to discontinue smoking. Physicians for
three patients were not able to confirm their risk for cardiovascular disease.

All 200 patients enrolled in the study were 45 years of age or older with no
history of cardiovascular disease, medications for high blood pressure, high
cholesterol or diabetes and had not visited a physician during the previous
year to assess their glucose, cholesterol or blood pressure levels.

The study's authors conclude that oral health care professionals can identify
patients who are unaware of their risk of developing serious complications as
a result of cardiovascular disease and who are in need of medical
interventions.

According to the authors, "With emerging data suggesting an association
between oral and non-oral diseases, and with the possibility of performing
chairside screening tests for diseases such as cardiovascular disease and
diabetes, oral health care professionals may find themselves in an opportune
position to enhance the overall health and well-being of their patients."

About the American Dental Association

The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association,
representing more than 157,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral
health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted
the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art
research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have
advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more
positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected
guide to consumer dental care products. The monthly Journal of the American
Dental Association (JADA) is the ADA's flagship publication and the best-read
scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit the
Association's Web site at www.ada.org.

SOURCE American Dental Association

Fred Peterson, petersonf@ada.org, or Lydia Hall, halll@ada.org, both of the
American Dental Association, +1-312-440-2806