The bacteria which infiltrate thepocket between the gums and thebase of the teeth, making gumsbleed, ultimately resulting in thefalling of teeth may well be makinghearts fail as well. According to arecent study conducted in a group of1,372 Puma Indians in Arizona,those with periodontal disease were2.7 times as likely to suffer a heartattack than those with healthygums. The researchers led by RobertGenco, an oral biologist from theState University of New York,Buffalo, took up a study of thispopulation in 1983 because veryfew smoked. While there weresuggestions earlier that oral infection may be a risk factor for heartdisease, scientists had difficultyruling out the effects of smokingbefore this study.