Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Linked to Better Periodontal Health: Study

Menopause is a time of declining reproductive function in women, and hormonal changes can affect oral health and chronic diseases such as periodontitis. The oxidative balance score (OBS) indicates oxidative balance using diet and lifestyle habits. This is the first study to investigate the relationship between the Oxidative Balance Score and periodontitis in postmenopausal women.

The study included 16,489 participants from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Modified Poisson regression was used to examine the effect of the Oxidative Balance Score on periodontitis in postmenopausal women, adjusting for confounders.

Results: The Oxidative Balance Score was 17.66 ± 0.13 in the presence of periodontitis and 18.42 ± 0.10 in the absence of periodontitis. In the fully adjusted model, higher Oxidative Balance Score quartiles were associated with a lower prevalence of periodontitis (Q2, prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.899; Q3, PR = 0.941; Q4, PR = 0.800). When divided into components, lifestyle Oxidative Balance Score showed a significant inverse association with periodontitis (PR = 0.786, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.638–0.970), whereas dietary Oxidative Balance Score did not (PR = 0.952, 95% CI: 0.804–1.127).

In postmenopausal women, an increase in the Oxidative Balance Score due to a healthy diet and lifestyle is associated with periodontal health. A low Oxidative Balance Score may be considered a potential risk indicator for periodontitis.

Reference:

Seon, J. H., & Chung, K. H. (2026). Oxidative balance score and periodontitis in postmenopausal women: a nationwide study. Climacteric, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2026.2631512