Letter to the Editor: Coffee Consumption and Periodontal Disease in Males

• Saumiya ^[1] ; Abhijeet ^[2]
  1. [1] Gopal
  2. [2] Shete
• Localización: Journal of periodontology, ISSN 0022-3492, Vol. 86, Nº. 4, 2015, págs. 489-489
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • We read with great interest the article by Ng, Kaye, and Garcia. The authors are commended for publishing, for what appcars to be the first time, data regarding effects of coffee consumption on periodontal disease in humans, but there are a few comments we would like to make.

    1. The authors have highlighted the antioxidant effect of caffeine as playing a protective role in periodontitis. However, there are other dietary sources of antioxidants that could have played a similar role in reducing periodontal disease but were not mentioned in the article.

    2. In the Cornell Medical Index, the participants responded to the question, “Do you drink more than six cups of coffee/tea a day,” and the authors reported that participants who consumed more than six cups of coffee/tea per day had fewer teeth with alveolar bone loss (ABL) ≥40%. Our query is regarding the lack of segregation of tea versus coffee consumption in the questionnaire since the caffeine content of tea varies greatly according to different types of tea, and there are other components in tea like catechins that have been proven to have beneficial effects on periodontal health.1-3 3. Using the food frequency questionnaire, the authors have classified the participants into two groups, one of which is more than one cup per day. This group can include any number of cups above one, so a proper quantity that can be considered high caffeine intake is not understood, considering that previous animal studies have shown high doses of caffeine to increase ABL.4,5 4. In the questionnaire, the participants were questioned about “any periodontal treatment in the past year (yes or no),” but no further elaboration regarding the type of periodontal therapy was provided. Our concern is whether these periodontal therapies could have contributed to reduction of ABL.

    The authors report no conflicts of interest related to this letter.