A new type of toothpaste may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study shows.

Cardiovascular disease, a term that encompasses heart attack and stroke, is the leading cause of death around the world, killing more than 17.3 million people annually. By 2030, that number could rise to 23.6 million, according to the American Heart Association.

For decades, research has suggested a link between oral health and inflammatory diseases affecting the entire body — in particular, heart attacks and strokes.

Inflammation throughout the body is accurately measured by high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a sensitive marker for future heart attacks and strokes.

Now the results of a randomized trial of a novel plaque identifying toothpaste, (Plaque HD), show statistically significant reductions in dental plaque and inflammation throughout the body, say researchers at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla.

In this trial, 61 participants aged 19 to 44 used either the new plaque-reducing toothpaste or an identical non-plaque identifying placebo toothpaste.

To assess dental plaque, they all used a fluorescein mouth rinse, and intraoral photographs were taken under black light imaging. For hs-CRP, levels were measured by an independent laboratory using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.

Plaque was reduced by 49 percent as compared to only 24 percent when placebo toothpaste was used. Inflammatory proteins were reduced by 29 percent with Plaque HD, while those who used a placebo toothpaste actually showed an increase of 25 percent.

“While the findings on reducing dental plaque extend a previous observation, the findings on decreasing inflammation are new and novel,” said Dr. Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., senior author of the study, which appears in the American Journal of Medicine.