Can Losing Weight Protect Your Teeth?

Q. I’ve noticed that my obese parents have lost most of their teeth due to gum disease, even though they are only in their 60s. Is this because they are overweight?

A. A common reason for tooth loss in older adults is periodontitis. This is basically a chronically infected mouth. Plaque accumulates on teeth, causing bacteria to breed, and the body’s immune response is unable to control it. This results in a constant degree of inflammation. Periodontitis is very common: It’s estimated that between 25 to 50 percent of adults have it, according to the World Health Organization.

Obesity is also associated with systemic inflammation. So could someone with excess fat have gum and tooth problems as a result?

A 2011 review in the journal Obesity Reviews looked at 33 different studies that had researched the connection between obesity and periodontitis. Although three studies found no correlation, 30 did find a positive association between body composition and periodontitis. This means that those with higher body fat levels were more likely to have periodontitis, to have a severe case of the condition or to have lost teeth (an indicator of periodontitis).

Depending upon the study evaluated in this analysis, the odds of being overweight and also having this tooth condition were anywhere from slightly higher to almost five times as high. When the data from the different studies was pooled, the overall risk averaged out to be that if a person was overweight or obese, they had over twice the odds of having periodontitis.

Why might this be? The researchers speculate that the low-grade inflammation that is often found in people who are overweight may set up a scenario where the teeth and gums are more prone, and less protected, against infection. Certain blood markers of inflammation, cytokines that help fight illness in the body, are elevated in obese people. One such marker, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α), is secreted by the deep abdominal fat. So the more fat in this area, the more of this inflammatory cytokine that is released. People with periodontitis have been found to have higher levels of (TNF- α), than those with healthy gums. 

Of course, other factors, such as smoking, diet and insulin sensitivity, are associated with periodontitis, too. So it might be a person’s smoking habits that play a bigger role, for example. More research should help clarify which factors play the biggest part in getting the condition. This review provides only evidence that there is a correlation between how much excess body fat a person has and whether they are likely to have a gum disease.

But this review does not prove that being overweight will lead to gum disease. And it also doesn’t show whether losing weight, on the other hand, will cause gum disease to go away if you have it, or lower the risk of getting it.

However, several studies have found that weight loss leads to lower levels of inflammation. A 2011 study in the journal Obesity  found that women who lost weight (and fat) through diet and/or exercise showed reduced levels in all the markers of inflammation that they measured. So while the link between weight loss and better teeth has not yet been proven to be a cause-effect relationship, there are signs that suggest that healthier teeth could be one result of being at a lower body weight.