Association Between Apical Periodontitis and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases

The aim of the study is to evaluate the association between apical periodontitis (AP) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) by assessing the multiplicative effect of AP on secondary outcomes of ASCVD. Sixty-two subjects will be enrolled from the Unit of Endodontics and Restorative dentistry and allocated into 2 distinct groups depending on the presence or absence of periapical lesions. Group 1 will be composed of 31 patients with radiographic signs of AP. On the contrary, another 31 healthy individual (free from clinical and radiographic evidence of AP) meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included as controls (group 2) A complete dental examination will performed on each patient in both groups. All the patients will be subjected to a cardiovascular examination to assess carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), presence of abdominal aortic aneurysm, presence of peripheral pulses through echo-color-doppler.