Dental Plaque Germs Are Linked to Fatal Pneumonia in the Elderly

WASHINGTON — Germs found in dental plaque can make their way into the lungs and cause potentially fatal pneumonia in elderly nursing home patients, U.S. researchers reported Tuesday.

Though the study was small, the researchers said they found clear evidence that the pneumonia that eight patients developed while in the hospital had originated from their dental plaque.

“This is the first study to establish unequivocally a link between dental hygiene and respiratory infection,” said Dr. Ali El-Solh of the University at Buffalo in New York, who led the study.

Writing in the journal Chest, El-Solh and colleagues said they tested 49 nursing home residents who were admitted to a hospital with a high risk of pneumonia. They made molecular fingerprints of the bacteria found in each patient’s mouth before he or she developed pneumonia.

The researchers said 14 developed pneumonia and 10 of them had started out with respiratory disease-causing germs in their teeth. Tests of germs from the lungs showed the DNA matched the DNA of plaque germs in eight of the patients.