Dietary supplementation with low-dose omega-3 fatty acids reduces salivary tumor necrosis factor-α levels in patients with chronic periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical study.
OBJECTIVE
Recent studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on physiological processes and on a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases, including periodontal diseases. In this study, we evaluated the impact of omega-3 PUFAs in conjunction with scaling and root planing (SRP) on salivary markers in patients with chronic periodontitis.


METHODS
Thirty systemically healthy subjects with chronic periodontitis were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups. The control group (n = 15) was treated with SRP + placebo whereas the test group was treated with SRP and dietary supplementation of low-dose omega-3 PUFAs (6.25 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 19.19 mg docosahexaenoic acid). Clinical parameters were taken at baseline, 1, 3 and 6 mo following therapy. Saliva samples were obtained at the same time intervals and analyzed for tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and superoxide dismutase (SOD).


RESULTS
Both groups showed significant changes in clinical parameters in response to treatment compared to baseline with no significant difference between groups. Salivary TNF-α levels showed a statistically significant decrease in the test group at 6 mo compared to the control group. Salivary SOD levels increased significantly at 3 and 6 mo in the test group and at 6 mo in placebo groups compared to baseline with no statistically significant differences between the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrated that dietary supplementation with low-dose omega-3 PUFAs improves salivary TNF-α without any significant impact on clinical parameters in patients with chronic periodontitis, suggesting that the systemic benefits of dietary omega-3 PUFAs may not be translated to periodontal health. (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02719587).
Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
I
I
Keskiner
Department of Periodontology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
I
I
Saygun
Department of Periodontology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
V
V
Bal
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Acibadem University, Ankara, Turkey.
M
M
Serdar
Department of Periodontology, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
A
A
Kantarci
D000328:Adult; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012534:Dental Scaling; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016745:Root Planing; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000032:analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis*
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
chronic periodontitis; omega-3; saliva; tumor necrosis factor-α