Your gums reveal your diet

Sweet soft drinks and lots of sugar increase the risk of both dental cavities and inflammation of the gums -- known as periodontal diseases

Aarhus University

Sweet soft drinks and lots of sugar increase the risk of both dental cavities and inflammation of the gums - known as periodontal diseases - and if this is the case, then healthy eating habits should be prioritised even more. This is the conclusion of a research result from Aarhus University.
Most of us are aware that sweets and other sugary food and drink increase the risk of dental cavities. A new research result now suggests that a sugary diet can also promote periodontal diseases.
The results have been obtained in connection with a critical review of the literature over the past fifty years, and have just been published in the international scientific journal Journal of Oral Microbiology.
"Sugar hasn't traditionally been associated with the development of periodontal diseases. It's true that back in the 1970s two American researchers suggested that a diet which was high in carbohydrates could be a common risk factor for both dental diseases and inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease, but this knowledge was largely forgotten again," says Professor, Dr. Odont. Bente Nyvad from the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health at Aarhus University, who has headed the research.
"Today, there is general agreement that the above-mentioned diseases are associated with a high sugar intake. However, a hypothesis that could link and explain the two major dental diseases, caries and periodontitis, has been lacking," she says.
In the new research project, the researchers have arrived at a common hypothesis for the development of the two major dental diseases. The hypothesis is based on the biochemical processes that take place in the bacterial deposits on teeth when you add copious amounts of nutrients to the bacteria - particularly when you eat sugar.
"In other words, we revive the 'forgotten' hypothesis that sugar can promote both dental cavities and periodontal diseases," says Bente Nyvad, and emphasises the importance of continuing to brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, even if you cut down on sugar.
The researchers assumption is that periodontal diseases caused by sugar belong to the group of inflammatory diseases in line with diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Bente Nyvad therefore recommends that healthy eating habits should be given much higher priority if the goal is to avoid expensive treatments in the healthcare system.

Preventing, healing tooth decay with a bioactive peptide

Cavities, or dental caries, are the most widespread non-communicable disease globally, according to the World Health Organization. Having a cavity drilled and filled at the dentist's office can be painful, but untreated caries could lead to worse pain, tooth loss, infection, and even illness or death. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a bioactive peptide that coats tooth surfaces, helping prevent new cavities and heal existing ones in lab experiments.
Conventional treatment for dental cavities involves removing decayed tissue and filling the hole with materials, such as amalgam or composite resin. However, this procedure can damage healthy tissue and cause severe discomfort for patients. Hai Ming Wong, Quan Li Li and colleagues wanted to develop a two-pronged strategy to prevent and treat tooth decay: 1) prevent colonization of the tooth surface by the plaque-forming bacteria that cause cavities, and 2) reduce demineralization, or the dissolving of tooth enamel, while increasing remineralization, or repair.
The researchers based their anti-cavity coating on a natural antimicrobial peptide called H5. Produced by human salivary glands, H5 can adsorb onto tooth enamel and destroy a broad range of bacteria and fungi. To promote remineralization, the team added a phosphoserine group to one end of H5, which they thought could help attract more calcium ions to repair the enamel than natural H5. They tested the modified peptide on slices of human molars. Compared with natural H5, the new peptide adsorbed more strongly to the tooth surface, killed more bacteria and inhibited their adhesion, and protected teeth from demineralization. Surprisingly, however, both peptides promoted remineralization to a similar degree. After brushing, people could someday apply the modified peptide to their teeth as a varnish or gel to protect against tooth decay, the researchers say.