Poor dental hygiene can lead to heart disease, according to research presented at RCSI’s annual Research Day.

Lead researcher Dr Steve Kerrigan and his team from the School of Pharmacy and the Department of Molecular Cellular Therapeutics at RCSI are investigating how oral bacteria stick to human blood platelets and cause them to clot or clump together within blood vessels.

According to the Health Research Board (HRB) funded study, bleeding gums result in an open blood vessel, allowing oral bacteria to gain entry to the blood stream. When the oral bacteria gain entry to the blood stream they encounter blood clotting cells called platelets, which causes them to stick together and partially block the inside of the blood vessel. This can prevent the blood flow back to the heart and heightens the risk of heart attack.

Dr Kerrigan said: “The mouth is probably the dirtiest place in the human body, with over 500 different species of bacteria. We have recently identified two receptors (proteins) on oral bacteria that we believe play a major role in recognising and sticking to platelets. The results of the study suggest that we have identified some of the mechanisms oral bacteria use to inappropriately clot or clump platelets in the blood vessels.”

He continued: “By understanding the exact mechanism through which bacteria stick to platelets and cause them to clump together we can gain better insights for the development of novel therapies to treat this disease. However, all this can be avoided with proper dental hygiene by brushing and flossing regularly.”

RCSI annual Research Day is an important date in the RCSI calendar providing its scientists with the opportunity to showcase their most recent research findings. As one of Ireland’s premier research institutions RCSI is internationally recognised for both education and research and is dedicated to improving human health through endeavour, innovation and collaboration in education, research and service.