Some dietary or caloric restriction approaches have the potential to improve periodontitis, according to researchers at King’s College London.
In a literature review, a group led by Giuseppe Mainas, PhD, found evidence that the approaches improve the condition by reducing local and systemic inflammation related to periodontitis.
"However, the results should be interpreted with caution since robust research such as randomized clinical trials is still missing," the authors noted (Clin Oral Investig, May 18, 2023).
The study is the first systematic review to assess the possible effect of dietary restrictions on gum disease, according to the authors. They screened 4,980 articles initially, with four animal studies and two human studies meeting the criteria for inclusion. Due to the limited number of studies and heterogeneity of the data, the results were presented in descriptive analyses.
"All studies showed that, compared to the normal (ad libitum) diet, [caloric restriction] might have the potential to reduce the local and systemic hyper-inflammatory state as well as disease progression in periodontal patients," the group wrote.
