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Periodontics

Beyond the mouth: the impact of periodontal disease on dementia

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Abstract

Data sources

The authors searched Medline via PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycINFO for relevant studies published until April 2022.

Study selection

Longitudinal studies that assessed periodontal health as the exposure and cognitive decline and/or dementia as the outcome were included. Case reports, reviews, cross-sectional studies, and animal studies were excluded.

Data extraction and synthesis

Two authors independently reviewed studies for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed study quality. Meta-analysis was conducted to generate pooled odds ratios (ORs) for cognitive decline and hazard ratios (HRs) for dementia. Sources of heterogeneity were explored through subgroup analyses.

Results

A total of 24 studies were included for cognitive decline and 23 for dementia. Poor periodontal health was associated with increased odds of cognitive decline (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.05–1.44) and dementia (HR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.07–1.38). Tooth loss also appeared to increase the risk independently. However, significant heterogeneity existed between studies.

Conclusions

Poor periodontal health may increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but the quality of evidence was low. Further high-quality, longitudinal studies with standardized assessments are needed to establish causality.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dental Research Center, Dentistry Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Morteza Banakar

  2. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

    Morteza Banakar, Yoones Sadabadi & Majid Mehran

  3. Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

    Farid Abbasi

Authors
  1. Morteza Banakar
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  2. Yoones Sadabadi
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  3. Majid Mehran
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  4. Farid Abbasi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Morteza Banakar.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Banakar, M., Sadabadi, Y., Mehran, M. et al. Beyond the mouth: the impact of periodontal disease on dementia. Evid Based Dent 24, 138–139 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-023-00925-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-023-00925-0

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