Calcified carotid artery atheroma on standard dental radiographs: A public health opportunity for cardiovascular risk reduction.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Calcified carotid artery atheroma (CCAA) can be identified incidentally on standard dental panoramic radiographs (DPRs). We sought to (1) determine the prevalence of CCAA on DPRs in a general dental population and (2) establish the proportion of patients in whom this would represent a new statin-indicated condition.

Methods

We identified patients aged ≥30 with DPRs from 2019 to 2021 from the University of British Columbia Dental Clinic. Patient charts were reviewed for use of lipid-lowering therapies (LLT) and existing statin-indicated conditions. DPRs for each patient were evaluated for the presence and characteristics of CCAA.

Results

Of 921 patients with a DPR and documented medical history, 548 (59.5 %) were diagnostic for evaluation of CCAA. Although 11

SUBMITTER: Mai V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11350465 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature