The health of your gums can say loads about your cardiovascular health. Based on this well-established connection, scientists now claim they’ll predict heart disease using a 30-second oral saline rinse in young, otherwise healthy people.

In the newest study, researchers evaluated if white blood cells within the saliva – linked to gum disease – might be an early indicator of poor arterial health and heart problems.

Previous studies have shown individuals with periodontitis – a serious gum infection that leads to teeth loss – are at increased risk of heart disease. The symptoms of periodontitis include painful chewing, bad breath, swelling and bleeding of the gums.

Researchers imagine that in patients with periodontitis, inflammatory aspects may enter the bloodstream through the gums, causing cardiovascular damage.

“Even in young healthy adults, low levels of oral inflammatory load may have an effect on cardiovascular health – one among the leading causes of death in North America,” said Trevor King from the Mount Royal University in Canada, who was the corresponding creator of the study.

The study included 28 non-smokers between the ages of 18 and 30, with no comorbidities. The participants didn’t have any reported history of periodontal disease and didn’t take any medications that would affect their cardiovascular risk.

All participants were asked to fast for six hours, apart from drinking water before reporting on the lab. On the lab, they were made to rinse their mouth with tap water for 10 seconds and with a saline solution for 30 seconds. The saline rinse samples were collected for lab evaluation.

After the oral rinse, researchers took an electrocardiogram (ECG) and checked the blood pressure, pulse wave velocity (a measure of arterial stiffness) and flow-mediated dilation (a measure of arterial dilation) of the participants.

Those with high white blood cells within the saliva showed poor flow-mediated dilation related to heart problems.

“The mouth rinse test might be used at your annual checkup on the family doctor or the dentist. It is simple to implement as an oral inflammation measuring tool in any clinic,” said co-author Michael Glogauer, of the University of Toronto, Canada.

Published by Medicaldaily.com