Healthy gums, for a healthy heart?

Associate Professor Dr Song Keang Peng.

A researcher at Monash University has embarked on an effort to prove a long-suspected tie between dental infections and heart disease.

The researcher, Associate Professor Dr Song Keang Peng said medical scientists have long suspected that bacteria which infect the gum travel to the heart through the body’s systems.

“However, this connection has not been proven and we hope this research will shed some light on how this happens,” said Dr Song, who recently received funding from the Malaysian government’s e-Science fund to carry out his research.

The research project involves collaborations with researchers at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Dental Institute of King’s College London, UK.

Dr Song said currently, the suspicion was that bacteria which cause gum infections migrate to the heart through the blood stream.

“The research aims to first prove this migration, and then study the impact of the migration and how it affects the body.”

Dr Song said aside from investigating the connection between dental infections and heart disease, his research will also specifically study how the infections destroy gum tissue.