Cardiovascular diseases are often associated with an unhealthy lifestyle as well as poor food habits. But a latest research carried out by a team of scientists at Taiwan has exposed a surprising link between dental health and risk of heart attack and insisted that practicing higher standard of dental hygiene is good for teeth as well as for the health of heart.

in addition, the experts have claimed that people who tend to approach their dentist for frequent cleaning and polishing , at least once a year, are less likely to suffer a heart attack as the practice reduces their risk around a quarter. During the study course, it was observed that people who appreciate good dental hygiene are around 13% less likely to suffer a stroke as compared to rest counterpart.

Before suggesting the findings, experts have carefully analyzed health records of not less than 100,000 adults and monitored the subjects for more than seven years. During the study, they tracked all the subjects and made a record for their visits to a dentist hygienist.

"Keeping your teeth clean and visiting the dentist is important but if you really want to help look after your heart, make sure you eat a balanced diet, avoid smoking and take part in regular physical activity", explained an expert from the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Emily Chen, who led the study. The expert has presented the findings during the scientific session conference of American Heart Association, in Florida and claimed to acknowledge fewer heart diseases such as stroke among subjects who have attempted to receive tooth scaling, at least once a year.

While commenting on the figures, a Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, Natasha Stewart, has suggested practicing good personal hygiene as a vital part of a healthy lifestyle.