Omega-3 Plus Low-Dose Aspirin Matches Antibiotics in Year-Long Gum Disease Trial

For people with severe periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory gum disease that can lead to loose teeth, bone loss and eventual tooth loss, controlling the disease often requires more than the standard scaling used to clean beneath the gums. A year-long clinical trial of 109 patients, published in the Journal of Periodontology, found that adding omega-3 and low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, the compound in aspirin) to conventional treatment produced results remarkably close to those achieved with antibiotics.

The FAPESP-supported study, run by researchers from Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, Guarulhos University, the University of Taubaté, the University of São Paulo and Harvard University in Brazil and the US, randomly divided patients into four groups. All received scaling; one group also received a placebo, a second received the antibiotics metronidazole and amoxicillin for 14 days, a third took three grams of omega-3 daily plus a low daily aspirin dose for six months, and a fourth received both the antibiotics and the omega-3/aspirin combination.

After one year, about 58% of patients in the antibiotics group had reached the study's clinical target of no more than four remaining deep periodontal pockets, compared with 57.7% in the omega-3 and aspirin group and only 23.1% in the placebo group. Combining antibiotics with the supplements produced no additional benefit over either approach alone. "The combination of omega-3 and low-dose aspirin achieved clinical benefits comparable to those of the metronidazole and amoxicillin protocol, opening up a real alternative for those who can't take antibiotics," said Magda Feres, the study's senior author and a professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

The improvements in the omega-3 and aspirin group did not fade once supplementation stopped: results measured six months after treatment ended remained similar to those at the end of the treatment period. Study first author Nídia Cristina Castro dos Santos said omega-3 appears to work by supporting the body's own resolution of inflammation and tissue repair, rather than by simply blocking specific inflammatory pathways as traditional anti-inflammatory drugs do.