Dairy Food Consumption is Inversely Associated with the Prevalence of Periodontal Disease in Korean Adults

Dairy food consumption is known to be inversely associated with periodontal disease. However, there are conflicting results depending on the type of dairy foods. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between individual dairy food consumption and periodontal disease. A total of 9798 Korean adults, aged ≥30 years, who participated in the fifth and sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included in this study’s analysis. Dairy food consumption was measured by the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Periodontal disease was defined as Community Periodontal Index score ≥3 in more than one of six sextants. Frequent intake of dairy foods (≥7 servings/week) was associated with a 24% lower prevalence of periodontal disease compared with never consumers after adjustment for age, gender, income, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, diabetes mellitus status, calcium intake, tooth brushing frequency, and use of dental floss (Odds ratio (OR)= 0.76, 95% CI = 0.63−0.91, p for trend = 0.052). Also, frequent intake of milk (≥7 servings/week) was associated with a 26% lower prevalence of periodontal disease after adjustment for potential confounders (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.61−0.89, p for trend = 0.022). Frequent consumption of dairy food including milk may have a beneficial effect on periodontal disease in the Korean adult population