The Effect of an Anti-inflammatory Diet on Periodontal Health in Adult Patients in the Dental Setting

OBJECTIVES: To explore findings that answer the clinical question, “Among adult patients (>18 years old) who received care in a dental setting, what is the effect of an anti-inflammatory diet on measures of periodontal health?” METHODS: An electronic literature search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, EBSCOhost, and Biomed Central. The initial search was broad and utilized keywords including “dental clinics,” “diet intake,” and “diet education” in order to find studies that investigated the effect of diet interventions and education in the dental setting. Filters and exclusion criteria were applied to further limit to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effects of an anti-inflammatory diet on periodontal outcomes. The search generated 1755 articles, 4 of which were reviewed in full text, of which 2 were then excluded. Via hand search, 2 additional articles were found, resulting in 4 RCTs that met the inclusion criteria to answer the clinical question. RESULTS: All 4 RCTs included components of an anti-inflammatory diet intervention; 3 included similar anti-inflammatory diet recommendations, while 1 included personalized recommendations with anti-inflammatory components. Education was provided and compliance was monitored in all studies. Three of the studies assessed changes in markers of gingival health and found significant improvements in some outcomes of interest; however, these outcomes did not improve consistently across studies. In the first study, both gingival bleeding index (GI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) decreased significantly in the experimental group. In the second study, only GI decreased significantly in the experimental group. In the third study, there were no significant changes in GI or BOP in the experimental group, however, there was a significant increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity. The last study assessed changes in bacterial count of dental plaque and saliva and found significant reductions in some bacterial counts in the experimental group following an anti-inflammatory diet, compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Following an anti-inflammatory diet with appropriate dietary guidance provided in a dental setting may improve gingival health. More research on the effects of an anti-inflammatory diet is necessary to further examine its clinical impact on gingival health. FUNDING SOURCES: None.