Does Obesity Increase Gum Disease Risk?

New research sought to improve understanding of the connection between obesity and gum disease with an experiment in mice. This may also improve the understanding of another chronic inflammatory, bone-related diseases.

Chronic inflammation caused by obesity may trigger the development of cells that break down bone tissue, including the bone that holds teeth in place, according to new research at the University at Buffalo The research findings are published in the Journal of Dental Research.

Bone loss is a major symptom of gum disease and may ultimately lead to tooth loss. Also known as periodontal disease, gum disease affects more than 47% of adults 30 years and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Periodontitis or pyorrhea is infection and inflammation of ligament tissues that surround and support the teeth. Periodontitis causes loss of alveolar bones leading to loosening and loss of teeth.

‘Obesity raises the risk of gum disease by inflating the growth of bone-destroying cells using a group of immune cells.’

𨯗lthough there is a clear relationship between the degree of obesity and periodontal disease, the mechanisms that underpin the links between these conditions were not completely understood,� says Keith Kirkwood, DDS, Ph.D., professor of oral biology in the UB School of Dental Medicine.

New research promotes the concept that the expansion of a group of immune cells regulated in any illness during obesity are transformed as bone destroying cells which progresses to a gum disease called periodontitis.

The study examined two groups of mice fed vastly different diets over 16 weeks: one group a low-fat diet that derived 10% of energy from fat, the other group a high-fat diet that drew 45% of energy from fat.

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The investigation found that the high-fat diet group experienced obesity, more inflammation, and a greater increase of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), a group of immune cells that increase during illness to regulate immune function in the bone marrow and spleen compared to the low-fat diet group.

The high-fat diet group also developed a significantly larger number of osteoclasts (a cell that breaks down bone tissue) and lost more alveolar bone (the bone that holds teeth in place).

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Also, the expression of 27 genes tied to osteoclast formation was significantly elevated in the group fed a high-fat diet.

These findings shed more light on the mechanisms behind other chronic inflammatory, bone-related diseases that develop concurrently with obesity, such as gum disease, arthritis, and osteoporosis.

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Source-Medindia