Radiographic measures of chronic periodontitis and carotid artery plaque.

Background And Purpose: Chronic periodontitis (CP) is associated with stroke and subclinical atherosclerosis, but clinical measurement of CP can be time consuming and invasive. The purpose of this study was to determine whether radiographically assessed CP is associated with nonstenotic carotid artery plaque as an ultrasound measure of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Methods: Panoramic oral radiographs were obtained from 203 stroke-free subjects ages 54 to 94 during the baseline examination of the Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST).