Bacteria in Dental Plaque and Atheroma Plaque

Periodontitis is considered a focus of infection where oral bacteria, bacterial by-products or inflammatory mediators can interact with other parts of the organism via the blood. Periodontal pathogen components such as DNA, RNA or specific antigens of P. gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans), Treponema denticola (T. denticola), Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) or Campylobacter rectus have been isolated from different tissues such as atheroma plaques, placenta, amniotic sac and respiratory tract. It has been reported that periodontitis may contribute to endothelial dysfunction leading to the formation of atherosclerosis.