Radiographic assessment of dental health in middle-aged men following sudden cardiac death

Poor oral health has been suggested to be a risk factor for myocardial infarction. To study if dental pathology might predispose to pre-hospital sudden cardiac death, and using a sum index of panoramic tomography findings, we compared the oral health of middle- aged (33- 69 yrs) male victims (Helsinki Sudden Death Study) of sudden cardiac death (n = 117) with that of controls, who died of noncardiac diseases (n = 63) or suffered unnatural sudden death (n = 120). The mean number of teeth was 15.2, and 17.4% of the men were edentulous. Frequent age- associated findings in dentate victims were fillings (79.9%), horizontal bone loss (72.1%), periapical lesions (45.6%), residual roots (38.2%), and vertical pockets (30.9%). In multivariate analysis with coronary heart disease risk factors and number of teeth as covariates, poor oral health was associated (p = 0.053) with the risk of sudden cardiac death along with age, smoking, and body mass index. This association was especially strong (p = 0.009) among victims < 50 yrs.