Fish oil matched antibiotics against severe gum disease

A daily dose of omega-3 and low-dose aspirin worked about as well as antibiotics against severe gum disease in a yearlong trial of 109 people, according to researchers with the São Paulo Research Foundation. After twelve months, 57.7% of the omega-3 group hit the clinical target, matching the 58% who took metronidazole and amoxicillin. Patients who got standard cleaning plus a placebo reached it only 23.1% of the time. Everyone received scaling, the procedure that clears bacteria from below the gumline. Periodontitis is a challenge because deep pockets form under the gums and shelter bacteria. Omega-3 helps the body wind down its own inflammation rather than block it, and aspirin boosts that effect. The benefit held even six months after supplementation stopped. "The result was surprising because the two therapies performed very similarly," said Nídia Cristina Castro dos Santos, the study's first author. The researchers call it cautious optimism, not a replacement yet.