Brushing teeth thoroughly to remove plaque could help prevent heart attacks and strokes by reducing inflammation in the body to levels close to what can be achieved by statins, a new study suggests.

Scientists in the US conducted a trial to see if a special toothpaste, which highlighted plaque on the teeth, could help heart health.

Several studies have shown that people with diseased gums are more likely to suffer heart disease but it has never been shown that good dental health could lower the risk.

Researchers found that people using the special toothpaste were able to remove twice as much plaque than those using a normal toothpaste and their levels of inflammation also fell by 29 per cent. Statins lower inflammation by around 37 per cent.

The study was led by Prof Charles Hennekens, of Florida Atlantic University, who was part of the team that discovered the benefit of aspirin to heart health in the 1990s and is estimated to have saved more than one million lives through his research.

“I think this could have policy implications for tens of millions of people alongside statins, aspirin, and beta blockers and other agents that help lower cardiovascular disease,” said Prof Hennekens.