Failing to regularly brush your teeth could leave you at risk of a heart attack, suggests new research that found the first causal link between gum diseases and heart problems, The Telegraph reports.

Scientists have found that the bacteria that cause gum disease can spread in the blood stream to the heart and aorta, the largest artery in the body.

The presence of the bacteria at these sites also saw mice suffer an increase in cholesterol and inflammation at those sites, the main risk factors in heart disease.

The researchers behind the study claim their findings could help produce new ways to diagnose and treat heart disease.

Irina Velsko, a graduate student at the University of Florida's College of Medicine who presented the findings of the new study at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, said: "We report evidence that introduction of oral bacteria into the bloodstream in mice increased risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease.