Obesity may affect the strength of the bones in your mouth.
Did you realize that your teeth and your body weight have a connection? It's about as unlikely a connection as you can imagine, but there could be one between fat and your oral health.
New research published in the Journal of Dental Research investigated the relationship between inflammation and gum disease in mice. The researchers discovered that inflammation caused by obesity increased the expansion of immune cells, raising the risk of bone loss caused by gum disease.
The researchers studied two groups of mice that were fed various diets for four months. One set of mice was provided with a high-fat diet, whereas the other was low-fat.
The study findings were exciting because the high-fat group had more cases of obesity and inflammation and had more significant counts of cells that can turn into osteoclasts, which tear down bone tissue. In addition, this group experienced higher bone loss in the mouth.
In other words, this study found that obesity-related inflammation might cause an increase in immune cells, which can contribute to bone loss in the mouth. Dental bone loss can be a significant problem because it can lead to tooth loss and is frequently related to gum disease.
These findings point to a link between obesity and bone loss, but also, because the study was conducted on mice, much more research is needed before anything can be proven about the link in the human body.