Heo H, Bae J-H, Amano A, Park T, Choi Y-H. Supplemental or dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids for the treatment of periodontitis: a meta-analysis. J Clin Periodontol 2022; 49: 362-377.

Supplemental or dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids for the treatment of periodontitis may have a positive impact on the disease.

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the intervention effect of omega-3 fatty acids on changes in periodontal parameters. Studies published in English between 2010 and 2020 were extracted from the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and PubMed databases. The effects of omega-3 fatty acid intervention were investigated using the amount of omega-3 intake, periodontal pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP). All 13 studies included in the meta-analysis were interventional, randomised controlled trials. Two studies implemented omega-3 fatty acid-rich diets, while eleven studies used supplements. Risk of bias was low and publication bias was not shown. Meta-analysis showed a statistically significant PPD reduction, CAL gain and BOP reduction for the omega-3 fatty acid intervention overall.