Premium
The Effect of Oral Hygiene on Cardiac Health as Determined by Heart Rate Variability
Author(s) -
Bujnoski Emily Elizabeth
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.754.4
Subject(s) - heart rate variability , medicine , cardiology , hygiene , heart rate , autonomic nervous system , oral hygiene , physical therapy , dentistry , blood pressure , pathology
Cardiac disease is the number one cause of death throughout the world (“The 10 Leading Causes of Death in the World, 2000 and 2012”, 2014). An indicator of physiological cardiac health is heart rate variability (HRV). HRV, determined using an electrocardiogram, measures the variation of time between R‐intervals of consecutive heartbeats due to autonomic influence. Higher variability between these R‐intervals indicates better cardiac health. HRV can be divided into low frequency and high frequency oscillations, whereas more low frequency indicates increased sympathetic activity and more high frequency indicate parasympathetic activity. This relationship is made possible via a Fast Fourier Transformation. The aim of this study is to relate these autonomic implications of the heart to oral hygiene, because little research in this field exists today. Over the course of five months, a random voluntary sample of college‐aged individuals completed oral hygiene surveys including information on brushing, flossing, and numbers of dental caries (cavities). HRVs were then taken from the sample group. Initial analysis shows significant positive correlation between low frequency HRV and number of cavities (>2) (n=55, r=0.71, p=0.014). The findings indicate a potential relationship between poor oral health and specific autonomic cardiac outcomes. Support or Funding Information Funding for this project provided by the Elon University Undergraduate Research Program, the Elon College Fellows Program, and Elon University's Summer Undergraduate Research Program.