Tooth loss and heart disease: associations with major evidence gaps
In people without natural teeth, a review linked changes in mouth microbes with cardiovascular disease. It also reported shorter life expectancy among denture users with cardiovascular disease compared with people retaining teeth.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review describes links among tooth loss, dentures, altered communities of mouth microbes and cardiovascular disease. It reports a life-expectancy association involving denture users with cardiovascular disease, but gives no numerical estimate. These findings do not establish that dentures or changes in mouth microbes cause cardiovascular disease or shorten life.
The abstract gives no follow-up periods, effect sizes, study-design breakdown or details about adjustment for other health differences. Its proposed biological pathways are not direct proof of causation.
Microbial changes and clinical outcomes
The oral microbiome is the community of microbes in the mouth. The review describes dysbiosis—an imbalance in that community—and reduced diversity after tooth loss. These are microbial findings, distinct from measured cardiovascular outcomes.
A suggested biological pathway
The authors suggest that imbalanced mouth microbes may contribute to bacteria entering the bloodstream temporarily and to inflammation throughout the body. The abstract presents a possible pathway, without showing how strongly it explains the reported associations.
The original publication
The role of oral microbiota and tooth loss in cardiovascular disease risk: a systematic review.
Pizziolo PG, Silva-Lovato CH, Clemente LM et al.
Biofouling · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40545911
- Record checked
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