Scientific Statement Says Gum Disease Does Not Cause CV Disease.

The Washington Post  (4/19, Huget) "The Checkup" blog reports, "There are plenty of good reasons to take good care of your teeth and gums -- but protecting against cardiovascular disease turns out not to be one of them," according to a scientific statement  published in Circulation.

        The Los Angeles Times  (4/19, Mestel) "Booster Shots" blog reports, "The statement, which comes after a review of 500 journal articles and studies, notes that there have been a lot of population studies that suggest a link between poor oral health and poor heart health." However, the blog points out that "the problem with population studies is that they don't prove cause and effect."

        Forbes  (4/19, Husten) reports, "The statement does not rule out the possibility that periodontal disease can cause CV disease, and even notes that a cause and effect relationship is 'biologically plausible,' but it concludes that statements that claim 'a causative association...or claim that therapeutic interventions may be useful on the basis of that assumption are unwarranted.'"

        Reuters  (4/19, Begley) reports that the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs has endorsed the statement. Also covering the story were MedPage Today  (4/19, Phend), HeartWire  (4/19, Hughes), and WebMD  (4/19, Goodman).