Introduction In addition to well-known risk factors, markers of dental disease and inflammation, such as tooth loss, are suggested to be also independently associated with blood pressure.

Objectives To investigate whether tooth loss is associated with increased blood pressure among adults, independently of the established risk factors.

Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 1720 adults from Florianópolis, Brazil. Data collection included blood pressure, anthropometric measures and a questionnaire on socio-demographics, self-rated health, diabetes, self-reported number of natural teeth and dental prosthesis. We used multivariable regression models for the association between systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and high levels of blood pressure (HBP) and tooth loss, sequentially adjusting for socio-demographic, behavioural and health related confounders.

Results Adjusted analysis revealed a Prevalence Ratio of HBP of 1.42 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.75) and 1.06 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.24) for edentate adults and adults with <10 teeth in at least one arch respectively, compared to those with 10 or more teeth in both arches. An association between edentate men and SBP was observed in the unadjusted but not the adjusted analysis. However, among women, edentate participants showed significantly higher SBP when compared with those with 10 or more teeth in both arches, after adjusting for potential confounders.

Conclusions There is an association between tooth loss and increased blood pressure and high levels of blood pressure in the general adult population of Florianopolis, especially among women, in addition to well-known hypertension risk factors.