Relationship of dental diseases with coronary artery diseases and diabetes in Bangladesh

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, including low and middle income countries (1,2). In recent years, the prevalence of CAD increased rapidly in most of the developing countries, including Bangladesh (3). The World Health Organization projected that by the year 2020, CAD will be the leading cause of death in developing countries (3). Existing data suggest that epidemiological transition of rapid socioeconomic growth in developing countries and change in lifestyle is increasing the exposure to risk factors for CAD, such as diabetes, dyslipidaemia, genetic factors, hypertension, and smoking (3,4). However, many of these traditional risk factors do not explain the pathophysiological etiology of CAD. Recent evidence points out at the possible role of several infectious agents, such as dental infections in the pathogenesis of CAD (5,6)