Is yogurt intake associated with periodontitis due to calcium?

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the lower intakes of yogurt, milk, and calcium are associated with periodontitis in a nationally representative sample of Korean adults. This study comprised 6,150 adults 19 or more years old who took both periodontal examination and nutrition survey. The frequency of yogurt and milk intake was examined with a food frequency questionnaire. The amount of calcium intake was calculated with dietary intakes data gained from complete one-day 24-hour recall interviews. Periodontitis was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed for the whole sample and subgroups with the strata of age, gender, or smoking, in a complex sampling design. Less intake of yogurt was significantly associated with periodontitis (odds ratio [OR] 0.82, 95% confidential interval [CI] 0.70–0.97), but neither less intake of milk (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.89–1.20) nor lower intake of calcium (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.89–1.21) was significantly associated with periodontitis. In the subgroup analysis, no difference in the association of yogurt intake with periodontitis was found according to the strata of age, gender, and smoking. In conclusion, periodonitis was significantly associated with the less intake of yogurt among the Korean adults, but the calcium contained in yogurt is not likely to cause it.