Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids EPA and DHA as an Adjunct to Non-Surgical Treatment of Periodontitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 9; p. 2614
• Main Authors: Stańdo, Mirella, Piatek, Paweł, Namiecinska, Magdalena, Lewkowicz, Przemysław, Lewkowicz, Natalia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.08.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anti-inflammatory agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Biofilms; Chemokines; Clinical trials; Cytokines; Dental plaque; Dietary Supplements; Docosahexaenoic acid; Docosahexaenoic Acids - administration & dosage; Docosahexaenoic Acids - pharmacology; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic Acid - administration & dosage; Eicosapentaenoic Acid - pharmacology; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Omega-3; Female; Fish oils; Gum disease; Health services; Humans; Immune response; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 17; Male; Mastication; Medical treatment; Middle Aged; non-surgical treatment; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Oral diseases; Oral hygiene; Patients; Periodontics; Periodontitis; Periodontitis - diet therapy; Quality of life; salivary chemokines; salivary cytokines; Samples; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Statistical significance; Teeth; Treatment Outcome; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Wound healing; Young Adult; salivary growth factors; eicosapentaenoic acid; docosahexaenoic acid; non-surgical treatment; periodontitis; salivary cytokines; salivary chemokines
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12092614
• ISSN: 2072-6643

Periodontitis is a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disease that leads to the loss of supportive tissues around the teeth with gradual deterioration of masticatory function and esthetics, resulting eventually in the decrease of the life quality. Host immune response triggered by bacterial biofilm is responsible for the chronic periodontal inflammation and ongoing tissue loss. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have anti-inflammatory properties, thus may be used for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with omega-3 PUFA in the patients with stage III and IV periodontitis. Thirty otherwise healthy patients were treated with scaling and root planning (SRP). In the test group ( = 16), patients were additionally supplemented with 2.6 g of EPA and 1.8 g of DHA. In the control group ( = 14), patients received only SRP. Periodontal examination was performed at baseline and three months following initial therapy. Salivary samples were taken twice at baseline and at the end of the experiment. We found that there was a statistically significant reduction in the bleeding on probing (BOP) and improvement of clinical attachment loss (CAL) at three months in the test group compared to the control group. Moreover, a statistically significant higher percentage of closed pockets (probing depth ≤ 4 mm without BOP) was achieved in the test group vs. control group after three months of treatment. Accordingly, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-17 were markedly lower, while the level of anti-inflammatory IL-10 was significantly higher in the salivary samples of the patients supplemented with omega-3 PUFA at three months in comparison to the patients treated with SRP alone. Our findings demonstrate that dietary intervention with high-dose of omega-3 PUFA during non-surgical therapy may have potential benefits in the management of periodontitis.