Huang Y, et al. - In a US nationally representative population, researchers assessed participants without a previous cancer diagnosis in order to examine total cancer mortality in correlation with clinically-assessed periodontal disease and a consequence, edentulism, in these individuals. The participants (n = 6,034; aged ≥ 40 years) were those who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III. Of the overall sample examined, 15% had periodontitis and 17% were edentulous. A higher risk of total cancer death was observed in those with edentulism, but not in those with periodontal disease. This was noted particularly in those with shared risk factors for periodontal disease and cancer. Participants who were overweight/obese vs those with normal body mass index exhibited a positive link, which was more strongly evident in pre/diabetic participants vs those without diabetes, and in ever cigarette smokers but not never cigarette smokers.