Oral Health Indices, Salivary pH, And Bacterial Load In Relation To Systolic Blood Pressure: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64149/J.Carcinog.24.9s.244-253Keywords:
Systolic blood pressure, Halitosis, Plaque index (PI), Gingival index (GI), Bleeding index (BI), Streptococcus mutans, Porphyromonas gingivalisAbstract
Objective Oral health is closely linked to overall systemic health, yet this connection is often neglected in routine medical care and remains unfamiliar to many people.This study examined the association between oral health indicators, salivary pathogenic bacterial loads, and elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) in healthy adults with no history of hypertension or other systemic diseases.
Methods In this comparative cross-sectional study, 60 adults aged 30–40 years were enrolled. Demographic and oral hygiene practice (OHP) data were collected using a validated questionnaire.Study participants were stratified by SBP into Group A (120–129 mmHg; n=30) and Group B (>129 mmHg; n=30). Assessments included oral health parameters such as halitosis (organoleptic, 0–5), salivary pH, plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and bleeding index (BI). Unstimulated saliva was cultured to quantify Streptococcus mutans(S. mutans) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) (colony-forming units per ml, CFU/ml). Independent t-test and Pearson correlation were used (two-sided α=0.05).
Results Groups were demographically comparable. As expected by design, SBP was higher in Group B (138.7±2.43 vs 127.5±1.87 mmHg; p<0.0001). Group B also showed lower salivary pH (6.79±0.14 vs 7.05±0.11) and with higher mean scores of halitosis (3.16±0.38 vs 2.12±0.28), PI (2.04±0.34 vs 1.10±0.28), GI (1.71±0.34 vs 0.57±0.22), and BI (1.00±0.25 vs 0.56±0.22); all p<0.0001. Salivary bacterial burden (S. mutans 87,000 vs 15,860 CFU/mL; p<0.0001 and P. gingivalis 19.34 vs 10.08 CFU/mL; p<0.0001) was higher in Group B. SBP correlated positively with oral-health indices (range r=0.62–0.90) and inversely with salivary pH (Group A: r=−0.77; Group B: r=−0.83). In Group B elevated SBP is associated with sub optimal oral health.
Conclusion These findings support considering oral health assessment in cardiovascular risk discussions and motivate longitudinal and interventional studies to test whether improving oral health favorably influences blood-pressure trajectories.
