Hello to 2020!!!

And hello to ‘New Year, New Me’, Dry (January) spells and rain, renewed gym memberships, and resolutions. Isn’t January just great? One of the big things in January now it seems is to go Vegan for a full 31 days. So, I’ve
hopped on the band wagon in search for health, happiness and enlightenment.

Before ‘Veganuary’ (Vegan January, still with me?) started a whole four days ago I would have classed myself as Vegetarian so realistically this should be pretty easy for me. Did I try Veganism in 2019 and succumb to a margarita pizza one night at 2am? Yes, yes I did. But here I am giving it another go with so many of you all out there and I started thinking about what effects (if any) going Vegan could possibly have on our gums.

Interest in Veganism has increased seven-fold in 5 years between 2014 and 2019. According to Google trends Veganism now gets more interest than Vegetarianism and gluten free searches but just in case you don’t know what being a Vegan means, here is a very complicated answer.

“Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”

— The Vegan Society

Basically, you can go from avoiding animal products in your diet right up to extending veganism to all areas of your life down to the clothes you wear, how you travel, and your place of work.

Writing a Vegan blog/practicing Veganism within the realm of dentistry is a difficult task.

I find the concept of animal testing hard to get my head around, but I work in an industry where lots of the information I have I have been educated with, and the techniques and treatments we use are as a direct result of or built upon information gained through animal testing.

As a consumer, I will now choose cruelty free makeup and beauty brands where possible. However, I regularly recommend dental products made by companies who are not cruelty free because they are extremely effective, and I see real results from these products daily for my patients. On the flip side I have tried some vegan/cruelty
free toothpastes which, in my opinion are complete rubbish.

I usually follow a plant based diet with the exception of a cheese related binge every now and then (although once I did watch a documentary which referred to cheese as congealed pus which has put me off a bit - not enough to keep me away from the McCartney’s deli counter over Christmas, but a bit) but recommend a wide and varied diet to all of my patients.

And this is the bit that I’m interested in, how is diet, and in particular my diet over the 31 days of Veganuary going to affect the health of my gums? Well…

If your diet it vegan or vegetarian, it has been shown that your saliva will have a lower pH than if you are following a more Mediterranean, omnivore style diet. Low pH causes acid erosion which can lead to tooth wear which is a huge dental problem. Low pH can also cause demineralisation or softening of enamel – a cavity in your tooth. Low pH saliva has also been associated with INCREASED levels of Gingivitis or inflammation and bleeding at the gum line. Not. Great.

Now often Vegans and Vegetarians can sort of be lumped in together so some of the research we see isn’t based solely on a vegan diet more so only omitting meat alone. But I’ve still included some of this research here because frankly I think its interesting, especially as we are seeing more and more patients following these kinds of diets.

Because of the big Vegan BOOM that’s happened over the past 5 years or so, from a research perspective there probably haven’t been enough people who have followed a strictly vegan diet for long enough to complete what we call a longitudinal study, basically where we check in with the people who are involved in the study at set points over a really long time, test them and get results and then put all of these results together
in one big delicious paper and see what the results are. But from what we have we can make a fairly educated guess at what the effects of veganism is on your gums.

In my personal opinion the problem is that people drink the kool aid (and yes, I can and will say this because previously I have done exactly that). You can technically be a Vegetarian, eat no vegetables and survive on white pasta and cheese. Similarly, you can eat a load of absolute CRAP and still be a Vegan. A lot of processed ready-made Vegan foods and especially desserts have an obscenely large amount of sugar. Sugar causes a huge amount of problems within the body, one of which are dental cavities and gum inflammation, especially when paired with poor oral hygiene, because Gum Disease and cavity causing bacteria LOVE sugar.

Marketing plans are clever, people are paid millions of pounds to have inclusive products that cater to everyone. Everyone is at it now, M&S, KFC, Costa, McDonalds, Greggs and Pizza Hut are all offering Vegan alternatives. Fabulous. But some of these Vegan and particularly Vegan ‘swap’ products can be heavily processed so let’s not confuse the word Vegan on the label with healthy even though choosing a diet that omits animal based proteins and fats is usually healthier.

A good way to think of this is in terms of inflammation. If you have been here for a while, hello to you and thank you, you will know that Gum Disease is an inflammatory condition and is linked to other inflammatory conditions in the body such as Diabetes, Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease.

Foods that typically cause inflammation in the body are:-

1)Meat & Dairy

2)Processed Meats

3)Casein - a protein found in milk products from mammals

So that’s 1-0 to the vegans am I right? But wait let’s hang on a second because

4)SUGAR - and not just table sugar butwhite rice, pasta and bread too

5)Fried Foods

6)Gluten

7)Fizzy Drinks & syrups

8)Fast Foods

9)Sunflower oil

10)Alcohol

So whenever you’re sitting eating an entire packet of Oreos -*guilty*, which happen to be Vegan but are filled the vegetable oils and sugar, we’re not doing much for inflammation in the body, the pH levels of our saliva and possibly increasing our risk of cavities and gum inflammation.

Some foods which are thought to REDUCE inflammation in the body are

1)nuts

2)spinach

3)olive oils

4)tart cherries

5)orange fruits & vegetables

6)pineapple

7)turmeric, ginger, onions & garlic

8)avocado

All of these products are NATURAL REAL FOODS that coincidentally are all Vegan.

There is evidence to suggest that eating a plant-based diet rich in low glycaemic, complex carbohydrates like fruits vegetables and beans, omega 3, micronutrients and fibre REDUCES gum inflammation REDUCES cavities and generally improves health.

When the saliva of those following a Vegan diet was tested, less markers for inflammation were found in that saliva than omnivores, since we know inflammation in the body is heavily associated with systemic disease (diseases affecting the whole body) like Diabetes, like Rheumatoid Arthritis which can be related to Gum Disease, reducing inflammation can only be a good thing.

If you are a Vegan, and you’re doing it, I hastily say, properly, you are going to be eating a lot of food which are full of Vitamin C, we need 40mg of this every single day. Brilliant.
A deficiency in Vitamin C has been proven to be associated with Gum Disease and Gingivitis. So then logically going Vegan SHOULD mean eating more Vitamin C which in turn should be good for your gums.

Since the concept of Veganism exploded there has been a literal wealth of information projected onto us through TV, Social Media and the Internet – supply and demand baby. There is no way I could ever read it all and am no way an expert, but I have read a good amount of it because it interests me.

From what I have watched and read, I feel the best information that was the easiest to digest- pardon the pun - and had resonated the most with me is this from the documentary Forks over Knives which was first aired in 2011.

‘Eat REAL food, not too much, and MOSTLY PLANTS’

So yes being a Vegan should be technically healthier and cause less inflammation in your body & your gums IF we are sensible about it and make GOOD food choices, be careful about the substitutions we make, put down the Oreos and don’t automatically assume that Vegan means healthy, although often it can be healthier.

People are Vegan for lots of different reasons, people try it for January, for perceived health benefits if there is a rabbit or a V on the label, people do it for morality reasons, for environmental reasons, or quite simply because eating animal products does not make them feel good. Takes all sorts.

This blog may also wind some of you up, and please don’t get me wrong I am not arrogant enough to think that I could ever influence you to become Vegan. Maybe you are Vegan, and don’t agree with some of my practices. Causing upset this is not the point of this post but if you are thinking of reducing meat & animal products in your diet there definitely will be some benefits. You do you.

So, if you are joining me and following a Vegan diet, ideally a whole foods plant based diet this January, it possibly will be good for your gums, if you keep up with your oral hygiene routine as outlined by your Dental Hygienist BUT, remember the golden rules.

Eat REAL food

Not too much

Mostly plants