What's the effect of nutrition on periodontal disease?

Peridontal disease is a bacterial infection that results in inflammatory destruction

of the connective tissue and bone that supports the teeth,

is therefore one of the leading causes of our teeth falling out.

Like most infections, though, how our body responds may play a critical role.

Yes, the presence of bacteria is the primary cause, but a susceptible host is also necessary

for disease initiation.

The standard explanation of periodontal disease is the plaque theory.

The buildup of plaque leads to gingivitis, gum inflammation, which leads to periodontitis,

inflammation lowered down beneath the gums.

But in some forms of peridontal disease, plaque doesn't appear to play a critical role.

Therefore, in the last few years, there's been more interest in the importance of systemic

health, our body's response.

In this respect, nutrition may be a great importance, since it's been implicated in a number

of other inflammatory diseases, all of which carry elevated periodontal disease risk.

Traditionally, when we think of the effects of nutrition on dental diseases, we're only

think about cavities.

However, there's been less research on the role of diet in periodontal diseases.

Well, if it's about inflammation, one would expect saturated fat-rich diets to make things

worse, increasing oxidative stress as well as inflammation, so we may want to cut down on saturated fat,rich diets to make things worse, increasing oxidative stress as well as inflammation.

So we may want to cut down on saturated fat, but look, let's not just speculate.

I mean, is there an association between cholesterol levels and periodontitis?

...