Diet-borne systemic inflammation is associated with prevalent tooth loss

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Oral Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Cariogenic diets are known to cause tooth loss, but diet-induced systemic inflammation's role is unclear.
• Previous research focused on single nutrients, not overall dietary patterns, for periodontal health.
• Diet is a modifiable risk factor for oral health, yet its impact on tooth loss requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between diet-borne systemic inflammation and tooth loss.
• To analyze data from a representative sample of US non-institutionalized adults.
• To assess the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) as a measure of dietary inflammatory potential.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 2009-2012 data.
• Dietary inflammatory potential assessed using the DII.
• Tooth loss (number of missing teeth) regressed against DII quartiles using multivariable linear regression.

Main Results:

• Participants with the highest DII (pro-inflammatory diet) lost significantly more teeth (0.84 additional teeth, p=0.015) compared to those with the lowest DII (anti-inflammatory diet).
• This association persisted in subgroup analyses, including lower carbohydrate intake and individuals aged 50 and older.
• The findings highlight a significant link between diet quality and tooth loss.

Conclusions:

• An anti-inflammatory diet is associated with a reduced number of missing teeth.
• Dietary patterns represent a modifiable factor for preventing tooth loss in US adults.
• Integrating dietary recommendations into public health initiatives can aid in preventing tooth loss and chronic inflammatory diseases.