Plaque can cause a higher risk to certain genders and races
A study by an American University is suggesting that some races and genders are at an increased risk of heart damage because of the way their bodies react to plaque in their mouths.
The researchers from Indiana University School of Dentistry studied 128 black and white men and women and discovered that an accumulation of plaque in the mouth did not change the total white blood cell count. This is can be the cause of adverse cardiac events.
The study also revealed that in black men, and no other group, there was noticeable increase of the activity of the most common type of white blood due to plaque. The neutrophilsis an essential part of the immune system but a build-up of the white blood can cause a heart attack.
Dr Michael Kowolik, who led the study, said that this meant both gender and racial differences were apparent in the response to oral plaque.
These findings could now help dental experts to identify individuals who are at greater risk of infection anywhere in the body.
The results of the study, entitled ‘Neutrophil Response to Dental Plaque by Gender and Race’, were published in of the Journal of Dental Research in August 2009.
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