Link between periodontitis and heart disease
Rightful Rewards
If you’d rather not lose your teeth, reducing the risk of periodontitis is its own reward; gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. But there are other very significant rewards.
A new study published in the Journal of Dental Research confirms previous research that demonstrates a clear link between periodontitis and heart disease. In this new study, aggressive treatment for advanced gum disease in nearly 70 adults resulted in significant drops in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and other important heart disease markers.
In the e-Alert “Let’s Get a Bite” (1/4/06), I told you how regular exercise may contribute to a reduced risk of periodontitis. Now I’ve found another study that demonstrates how vitamin C intake may help prevent gum disease, while improving symptoms in those who already have the disease.
Healing gets a promotion
The average grapefruit contains about 90 to 100 mg of vitamin C. That’s a far cry from a mega-dose, but many people get less than that amount on a daily basis. According to researchers at Germany’s Friedrich Schiller University (FSU), they might help their dental health and overall health considerably if they added two grapefruits to their diets every day.
Researchers compared the vitamin C plasma levels in nearly 60 subjects with chronic periodontitis and 22 healthy subjects. Levels were measured before the test period, and again after a two-week intervention in which each of the periodontitis patients ate two grapefruits daily.
Results showed, first of all, that the periodontitis subjects had “significantly reduced plasma vitamin C levels” compared to the healthy subjects before the test period. And predictably, C levels were higher among the diseased subjects after the test period. These subjects also had considerably less bleeding from the gums.
In a statement about this study, Dr. Gordon Watson of the British Dental Association made this additional point for BBC News: “It reinforces the message that if you have enough vitamin C in your diet then it tends to promote healing.”
Smoked out
The FSU study also offers insight into the destructive effects that cigarette smoking has on the gums.
Researchers found that among the smokers who had periodontitis, vitamin C levels were about 30 percent lower compared to non-smokers with the disease. Smokers increased their C levels on the two-week grapefruit diet, but the levels were still much lower compared to non-smokers.
Scientists don’t know why smoking is linked to low levels of vitamin C. The explanation may be biological; smoking could impair C metabolism. Another theory is that smokers as a group may tend to have unhealthy diets.
In either case we can chalk up “healthy gums” as yet another excellent reason to quit smoking.
Sources:
“Grapefruit Consumption Improves Vitamin C Status in Periodontitis Patients” British Dental Journal, Vol. 199, No. 4, 2005, nature.com/bdj
“Grapefruit ‘May Cut Gum Disease'” BBC News / Health, 12/25/05, news.bbc.co.uk
“Full-Mouth Tooth Extraction Lowers Systemic Inflammatory and Thrombotic Markers of Cardiovascular Risk” Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 85, No. 1, 2006, jdr.iadrjournals.org
