Diabetes medication may prevent gum disease and promote healthy aging

In Paris, a woman checks her blood's glycemia using a glucometer.

Approximately 19% of adults worldwide suffer from severe periodontal disease.

This condition, also referred to as gum disease, arises from an infection of the tissues that hold teeth in place. If periodontal disease is not treated, it can weaken the mouth's supporting structures and eventually cause tooth loss.

Other parts of the body may also be affected by periodontal disease. Prior research has connected gum disease to a higher chance of developing cardiovascular disease.

By using both mouse and human trials, researchers from King's College London have now discovered that a common type 2 diabetes medication may help improve clinical outcomes for non-diabetic individuals with gum disease and help prevent bone loss brought on by either periodontal disease or aging.

Furthermore, this is not the first study to examine metformin as a treatment for ageing. According to research released in August 2019, there is growing evidence that the medication may help lower the risk of diseases associated with aging.

According to a research that was released in April 2021, metformin increases insulin sensitivity while lowering blood glucose and insulin levels, which lowers the levels of AGEs, a marker of aging.

In order to test metformin, the researchers first used a mouse model of periodontal disease. Following the mouse study, researchers discovered that metformin significantly prevented age-related bone loss in living mice as well as bone loss caused by periodontal disease.

The ability of metformin to improve the health of my elderly animals and (avoid) 50% of bone loss surprised me. to Medical News Today, Dr. Neves stated. I realized there was actually something going on when I looked at the data for the first time.

Subsequently, a clinical trial was conducted by Dr. Neves and his associates involving twenty study participants who did not have diabetes but did have gum disease.

Researchers found that patients treated with metformin had better clinical results when their gum disease was resolved at the conclusion of the trial. Metformin also assisted in reducing body and oral inflammation and blood sugar even in the presence of elevated bacterial levels.

Since both my animal research and patient data demonstrate positive metformin outcomes even in the presence of elevated oral bacteria, prevention begins before disease even occurs. According to Dr. Neves, this begs the question of whether brushing your teeth alone is the only way we can genuinely stop gum disease from developing over the course of our lives.Aside from those unexpected results, my clinical data also suggests that metformin may be used to help patients with gum disease maintain better overall health because it stabilizes blood glucose levels and improves insulin sensitivity and inflammation control, he continued.

When bacteria are allowed to build up on teeth, they produce plaque, a sticky substance that causes periodontal disease.

With proper dental hygiene, which includes brushing twice a day and flossing once, most plaque can be eliminated. Plaque that remains on the teeth for an extended period of time can solidify into tartar, which can only be removed by a dentist who practices professional cleaning.

Gingivitis can result from gum inflammation and infection caused by plaque and tartar accumulation on teeth.

Assume that gingivitis is not addressed and that plaque and tartar are not eliminated from teeth. The infection may then spread farther into the soft tissues surrounding teeth, possibly leading to periodontitis, a condition that results in bone loss and tooth loss.

Treatment options for periodontal disease

The best way to treat periodontal disease is to prevent it with good oral hygiene habits. This involves going to the dentist every six months for a professional teeth cleaning.

Plaque is removed from areas of the teeth beneath the gum line during a deep cleaning, which is recommended by a dentist if periodontal disease has progressed to a serious level.

Both medical therapy and surgical procedures may be necessary for severe cases of periodontitis.

According to Dr. Neves, MNT, if you visit the dentist today, your only options for treating gum disease are oral hygiene, which involves cleaning your teeth, and antibiotic therapy, which is focused only on reducing plaque bacteria and food buildup around your teeth.

The problem lies in the fact that existing treatments for gum disease only address the bacterial aspect of the issue, leaving inflammation out. Furthermore, other non-communicable diseases cannot be prevented with the current treatments.

Therefore, he said, the creation of new treatments and pathways within health systems that view patients with gum disease as potential candidates for other non-communicable diseases can help lower the global disease burden and possibly usher in a new generation of healthy older people.

How aging is affected by gum disease According to earlier research, periodontal disease can have an effect on a person's general or systemic health, which can affect how well they age.

Additionally connected to periodontal disease is inflammaging, a condition where chronic inflammation can develop as one ages.

Dr. Neves claims that people typically begin to experience the effects of systemic diseases that affect overall health, such as diabetes, obesity, and cognitive decline, in their late adult and geriatric years. However, everyone's gum disease begins much earlier—around the age of thirty.

All of the diseases I've discussed, along with gum disease, are categorized as non-communicable, meaning they can develop at any point in a person's life. It has also been demonstrated that these conditions are linked to gum disease sufferers. He stated that individuals with advanced gum disease are at a higher risk of developing these ailments.

Our research indicates that if we begin treating gum disease from a systemic perspective early on, we might be able to stop gum disease patients from developing other non-communicable diseases later in life. Dr. Neves continued.

The oral cavity An insight into the state of the body

After reading the study, Dr. Purnima Kumar, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and spokesperson for the American Dental Association, told Medical News Today that, as a physician who treats patients with periodontal disease, she initially found the research to be very intriguing.

She added, however, that it's crucial to remember that these results are extremely preliminary and come with a number of disclaimers, the most significant of which being that the majority of the data come from animal research.