Just four weeks of a healthy diet can significantly reduce gingivitis, according to a study that will be presented at the European Federation of Periodontology’s EuroPerio9 conference, June 20 to June 23 in Amsterdam.
“Previous research has shown a profound effect of dietary interventions on gingival inflammation. These studies showed no correlation between plaque and gingival inflammation, so this was quite revolutionary. However, the mechanisms behind this are broadly unknown,” said lead author Dr. Johan Wölber of the Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Centre for Dental Medicine, University Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany.
“Since we know that there is an association between systemic inflammatory parameters like CRP, IL-6, and TNF-a, we wanted to find out how an oral health optimized diet could affect both periodontal and systemic inflammation,” said Wölber.
“To do so, we conducted a randomized clinical trial using the design of our previous study, with one group of patients asked to follow a special diet low in processed carbohydrates and animal proteins but rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins C and D, antioxidants, plant nitrates, and fibers,” said Wölber.
“People in the control group did not change their eating habits, following a common Western diet rich in processed carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids and low in micronutrients. We asked both groups not to clean between their teeth during the study. We assessed the clinical periodontal parameters and systemic inflammatory parameters at baseline and after four weeks,” Wölber said.
“We were amazed to find that, after only four weeks, a healthy diet substantially reduced inflammation of the gums. On the whole, we found a significant reduction of gingivitis of about 40%, which was, like in the previous study, significantly different from the control group without interdental cleaning,” said Wölber.
“Regarding the serological parameters, we saw no differences between the control and experimental group, except a significant increase of vitamin D in the group eating healthily. In other words, an optimal diet seems to influence early gingivitis before systemic inflammation sets in,” Wölber said.
Next, Wölber aims to validate these findings in larger studies over a longer time. He and his team also will be carrying out microbiome analysis to see what happened to the supragingival and subgingival plaque. For now, he says, dentists can still advise patients of the oral benefits of a healthy diet.
“For patients, it seems clear that a Western diet drives inflammation. This study shows that a change of diet is good for patients with gingivitis, but it may also prove to be favorable for patients with periodontitis,” he said.
“The optimal diet consists of avoiding processed carbohydrates such as sugar or white flour, saturated and trans-fatty acids, while increasing micronutrients from plants, Vitamin D, Omega 3 fatty acids, fibers, and plant nitrates. Due to the low content of processed carbohydrates, this diet also helps prevent caries and promotes weight loss,” Wölber said.
“Oral health professionals should feel confident in recommending a healthy diet to their patients, in the same way that they promote oral hygiene, because it will benefit both oral and general health,” he said.
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