Pulp stone: diagnostic significance for systemic illness and radiographic correlation with ischemic heart disease (IHDs)

Context and Aim Sufficient evidence exists in the literature which indicates that
patients with ischemic heart diseases (IHDs) show higher degree of pulp calcifications.
The present study was, therefore, planned to estimate the prevalence of pulp stones in
patients diagnosed with/or undergoing treatment for IHDs.
Materials and Methods The present study, which consisted of 300 subjects within
the age range of 25 to 65 years, was divided into two groups: study group comprising
150 patients (113 males and 37 females) and 150 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.
Pulp stones were imaged using bitewing radiographs and paralleling technique
under standard conditions.
Statistical Analysis Used Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics for
Windows version 21 (IBM Corp, Armonk, USA), while independent t-test and Chi-square
test were done to check the prevalence of pulp stones in the study and control groups,
based on gender-, arch-, region- and side-wise distribution. p < 0.05 was considered
statistically significant.
Results The patients with IHDs exhibited 100% prevalence of pulp stones and the
difference was found to be statistically significant, although there was a significant difference
in the mean number of pulp stones observed in the study and control groups,
with the study group revealing 2217 pulp stones as against 639 pulp stones observed
in the control group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, maxillary arch and posterior teeth were
predominantly affected in both the groups, although the difference was not found to
be statistically significant.
Conclusions The findings of the present study suggested a positive correlation
between pulp stones and IHDs, highlighting the significance of dental radiographic
examination, which may have a possibility for an early detection of IHDs.