Obscure Cause of Heart Disease-Periodontal Disease Periodontal disease is a very significant risk when it comes to heart disease. My research is directed towards the hidden link between periodontal disease and heart disease. I was interested in researching this due to work, I work in a dental office where it is very common for patients to get diagnosed with periodontal disease. More importantly some of this patients already have heart problems when they come in and are diagnosed. So it is very interesting to know that there is a possible link between both. The secondary research that I have conducted consists of one interview and two surveys. I conducted the interview with the doctor I work for, he is a professional and he is a certified dentist. It also consists of three sources which are clinical journals on this topic. They are very trustworthy due to the fact that they have been peer reviewed and also have been published. The first source “ Loss of Alveolar Bone Due to Periodontal Disease Exhibits a Threshold on the Association With Coronary Heart Disease”, is the first one that I came across while conducting my research and is about the relationship between the loss of alveolar bone which is mainly due to periodontal disease and how it exhibits a positive relationship with coronary heart disease. My second source “ Non-surgical Periodontal Therapy Reduces Coronary Heart Disease Risk Markers: A Randomized Controlled Trail”, explains the relationship on how periodontal therapy reduces coronary heart disease. This sources have been published in the same publication. And my third source “ Poor Oral Health and Coronary Artery Disease: A Case-Control Study”, is a little bit different than the other two, but it consists of something equally important. It researches the relationship between poor oral health and coronary artery disease. These sources have been published in the same publication. All this sources plus my interview and surveys give a whole lot to work with for my final research presentation. It is a very complete overview of my topic and it gives compelling evidence as to the link that is present between periodontal disease and gum disease. I chose this topic because it has a very personal interest to me. It can also be very helpful to many patients that I encounter on my day to day job. It can be very informative to them and others. Periodontal disease is very interesting as well as complicated, it can have links to other diseases, but I chose heart disease because it is the most common one among the patients I have dealt with. Many of them have asked me if I know that there is a link between both and I have not been able to answer them and that is another reason why I chose to do this research, now I will be knowledgeable enough to give them a correct and educated answer. My research questions are very straightforward, the first one is “How does periodontal disease complicate heart problems and makes them more life threatening?”, and “Does periodontal disease deteriorates heart problems causing other more life threatening conditions?”. Another very important question is “Why people do not take this seriously and why they do not prioritize their health?”. My hypotheses is that there is an evident link between periodontal disease and heart disease. I suspected that there was a connection between the two after seeing so many patients that had both and were diagnosed with both as they kept coming into the dental office. I think that it is very beneficial to teach patients of the risk of having periodontal disease and letting it go untreated. Patients do not even like to get their cleanings done which is the fastest way to control gum disease. Stubborn patients do not do the cleanings because they think it is too much money, but they are not seeing the benefits it is bringing to their health. To be able to know that a simple cleaning can give such a huge benefit is priceless. This is why I chose my third
