Periodontal disease and incident venous thromboembolism: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

Participants were on average 62.7 years old at baseline and 13.9% self-reported tooth loss from gum disease. Over a mean of 12.9 years of follow-up, there were 313 incident VTE events. Self-reported tooth loss due to gum disease was associated with 30% higher VTE risk (HR = 1.29 (0.96, 1.73) after adjusting demographic factors, SES, periodontal risk factors, oral hygiene, and access to dental care variables. No statistically significant associations between clinical measures of periodontitis and VTE were observed after adjustment. Further research is needed to elucidate whether a relationship between periodontal disease and VTE exists.