London, May 29 (IANS): Brushing your teeth twice day can help protect against heart attack, reveals a new study.

According to scientists, those who fail to keep their teeth clean have a higher chance of suffering heart problems. The study found that those who never or rarely brush their teeth were 70 percent more likely to suffer heart disease.

During the study, researchers from University College London analysed data for more than 11,000 people with an average age of 50 taking part in the Scottish Health Survey.

The findings revealed that 62 percent visited their dentist every six months while 71 percent said they brushed their teeth twice a day.

Over the next eight years, there were 555 cases of serious heart problems, of which 170 were fatal. The experts found that those who never or rarely brushed their teeth were 70 percent more likely to suffer heart disease than those who brushed twice a day.

"Our results confirmed and further strengthened the suggested association between oral hygiene and the risk of cardiovascular disease," dailymail.co.uk quoted researcher Professor Richard Watt as saying.

Furthermore inflammatory markers were significantly associated with a very simple measure of poor oral health behaviour.

"Future experimental studies will be needed to confirm whether the observed association between oral health behaviour and cardiovascular-disease is in fact causal or merely a risk marker," Watt added.

The study was published online in the British Medical Journal.