Periodontal Disease and Venous Thromboembolism

Beyond several well-established venous thromboembolism VTE risk factors, venous thrombosis may also be triggered by unusual and unsuspected conditions. The current scientific evidence—although limited both in time and quantity—would support the existence of a causal relationship between periodontal disease (especially severe) and VTE. In our analysis, the crude risk of VTE was increased by 1.9-fold [hazard ratio (HR), 1 to 91; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.19–3.08), and 2.29-fold (HR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.63–3.22) in patients with severe periodontal disease and edentulous compare to those with no clinical signs of periodontal disease, respectively. Further efforts should, therefore, be initiated to reinforce the promotion of oral health in the general population, especially in subjects with prothrombotic conditions or risk factors that confer higher risk of developing venous and arterial thromboembolic events.