(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
NEW RESEARCH shows that higher intake of sugary and high glycemic load foods may influence poor oral health and, perhaps, systemic health outcomes in postmenopausal women.
The oral microbiome, the microenvironment inside our mouth, likely plays a large role in overall health.
That’s on top of its role in tooth decay and gum disease.
The oral microbiome, the collective bacteria world inside our mouth, is influenced by the food we eat, according to a study conducted by University at Buffalo (UB) scientists and published in Scientific Reports, an open access journal from the publishers of Nature.
UB scientists have shown how eating certain types of foods impacts the oral microbiome of postmenopausal women.
They found that higher intake of sugary and high glycemic-load foods, like doughnuts and other baked goods, regular soft drinks, breads and non-fat yogurts, may influence poor oral health.
In they process, they may impact on systemic health outcomes in older women due to the influence these foods have on the oral microbiome.
The UB-led team investigated whether carbohydrates and sucrose, or table sugar, were associated with the diversity and composition of oral bacteria. The study covered a sample of 1,204 postmenopausal women using data from the Women’s Health Initiative.
The UB research is the first study to examine carbohydrate intake and the microbiome in the subgingival (under the gums) in a sample consisting exclusively of postmenopausal women.
The study was unique because the samples were taken from subgingival plaque rather than salivary bacteria.
“This is important because the oral bacteria involved in periodontal (gum) disease are primarily residing in the subgingival plaque,” says Dr. Amy Millen, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions.
“Looking at measures of salivary bacteria might not tell us how oral bacteria relate to periodontal (gum) disease because we are not looking in the right environment within the mouth,” says Dr. Millen, the study’s first author.
The research team found positive associations between total carbohydrates, glycemic load and sucrose, and Streptococcus mutans, a contributor to tooth decay and some types of cardiovascular disease. This finding confirms previous observations.
The research team also observed associations between carbohydrates and the oral microbiome that are not as well established.
It observed that Leptotrichia spp. is positively associated with sugar intake. In previous studies, Leptotrichia spp. has been associated with gingivitis, a common gum disease.
The other bacteria they identified to be associated with carbohydrate intake or glycemic load have not been previously linked to gum disease, Dr. Millen points out.
“We examined these bacteria in relation to usual carbohydrate consumption in postmenopausal women across a wide variety of carbohydrate types: total carbohydrate intake, fiber intake, disaccharide intake, to simple sugar intake,” she says.
“No other study had examined the oral bacteria in relation to such a broad array of carbohydrate types in one cohort. We also looked at associations with glycemic load, which is not well studied in relation to the oral microbiome.”
The question now is, what does this means for overall health? The answer is not easily understood.
“As more studies are conducted looking at the oral microbiome using similar sequencing techniques and progression or development of periodontal disease over time, we might begin to make better inferences about how diet relates to the oral microbiome and periodontal disease,” Dr. Millen says.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; and Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
