Supplement Consumption and Periodontal Health: An Exploratory Survey Using the BigMouth Repository

Abstract

Background: Dietary supplements have been investigated for their impact on the periodontal apparatus (alveolar bone, mucosa, periodontal ligament, and cementum) and their hypothetical protective role against periodontitis. There remains a gap in the field in this area. Thus, the present study aims to examine the correlation between populations who report taking different dietary supplements and their relative periodontal health. Methods: The BigMouth dental data repository derived from the dental Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of the University of Michigan school of dentistry was used to extract data relating to all patients who fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The prevalence of periodontitis compared to periodontal health as related to supplement consumption was assessed. Results: A total of 118,426 individuals (55,459 males and 62,967 females) with self-reported consumption of the dietary supplements of interest were identified in the University of Michigan database via the BigMouth repository. Associations with the following vitamins were investigated, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Multivitamins, Fish oil, Calcium, Omega 3, Saw palmetto, Zinc, Sildenafil, Flax seed, Folic acid, Garlic pills, Ginger pills, Ginko, Ginseng, Glucosamine, Iron, and Magnesium. Out of these supplements, only multivitamins and iron were found to significantly favor periodontal health, while folic acid and vitamin E significantly favored periodontitis. Conclusions: This study found a minimal association between the consumption of dietary supplements with periodontal health.