Periodontal Benefits of Supplementation and Exercise in Post-Menopausal Women

Objectives: Post-menopausal women (PMW) are shown to lose skeletal bone linking them to periodontitis and tooth loss.  Supplementation with Vitamin D, calcium, and bone-sparing medications is beneficial for prevention and treatment of bone loss.  Likewise, exercise has been  shown to be beneficial. The incidence of periodontitis is said to be lower in patients with a healthy lifestyle, however, the association between a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and supplementation, and response to non-surgical periodontal therapy has not been investigated.  Objective:  Are the outcomes of non-surgical periodontal therapy better in PMW who use supplements and exercise versus those who do not? 

Methods:   42 PMW with mild to moderate periodontitis participated in this IRB approved study.  After consenting to participate, all participants received a periodontal exam and a prophy.   Periodontal parameters, such as probing depth (PD) and gingival recession were used to calculate clinical attachment level (CAL) for all participants.  Based on a questionnaire, the participants were divided into healthy lifestyle and control groups.  For the purposes of this study, a healthy lifestyle is defined as including both exercise according to American Heart Association guidelines and use of a physician prescribed supplement regimen including vitamin D, calcium, hormone treatment and/or bone sparing medications.   T-tests were used to determine if there was a significant difference between the groups.

Results:  There is a statistically significant difference in CAL (p=.035) between the groups.  The healthy lifestyle group had greater CAL values compared to control groups.   

Conclusions: Results suggest regular exercise and supplementation may improve periodontium in PMW.  Future investigation is needed to compare the effect of lifestyle in PMW with osteoporotic PMW versus non-osteoporotic controls.