The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Oral Health

Oral health encompasses a wide variety of conditions with two of the primary conditions being enamel degradation and periodontal disease. These ailments are intertwined and are known to be prevented by a combination of good oral hygiene and a balanced diet. Despite this, incidence rates of oral health conditions in both high and low-and-middle income countries remain high. Periodontal disease prevention is of particular relevance due to its correlation with cardiovascular disease. One highly popular diet that could serve as an alternative strategy in combatting these oral health conditions is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting has shown promise in decreasing systemic inflammation and blood glucose levels, both of which are correlated with periodontal disease and enamel degradation. To explore this relationship between intermittent fasting and oral health a 9-week experimental protocol with 4 randomly established groups was completed. These groups included ad libitum high and low-fat groups, and time restricted feeding high and low-fat groups. After the 9-week protocol the mice were sacrificed, and their intact jaws and gingiva tissue were isolated. Three primary methods were used to quantify the effects of intermittent fasting on oral health: comparing the enamel density between groups, comparing the alveolar bone recession between groups, and comparing the gene expression of periodontal disease markers between groups. Body composition and fasting blood glucose levels of the mice were also quantified. We found that the fasting groups had lower average fasting blood glucose levels and maintained a more physiologically ideal body composition. Despite this, the oral health analyses did not have any consistent significant results. The results of this study suggest that despite intermittent fasting’s role in blood glucose levels and body composition regulation, it has minimal effects on enamel degradation and periodontal disease development.