Hydrogen Water Reduces Gum Disease Inflammation and Harmful Bacteria
- Authors
- Yang Bai, Chenglong Wang, Hua Jiang, Lin Wang, Nan Li, Wei Zhang, Hongchen Liu
- Journal
- Annals of Translational Medicine
- Year
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.21037/atm-22-4422
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Periodontitis
- Body System
- Oral
TL;DR
Researchers found that drinking hydrogen-rich water can help reduce gum disease by lowering inflammation and fighting bad bacteria in your mouth, but it might not be strong enough to use on its own and they're still worried about whether it's safe to drink for a long time.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water reduced key inflammatory markers (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6) and oxidative stress indicators while inhibiting harmful oral bacteria growth in patients with periodontal disease, according to a meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials.
Summary
This analysis combined results from 17 clinical studies involving 304 people to examine whether hydrogen-rich water (water infused with hydrogen gas) could help treat gum disease. The researchers found that people who used hydrogen-rich water showed lower levels of inflammatory molecules (chemical signals that cause inflammation) in their gums, reduced markers of cellular damage from oxidative stress (a type of chemical imbalance in cells), and decreased growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth compared to those using plain water.
Practical Takeaway
While this meta-analysis suggests hydrogen-rich water may help reduce gum inflammation and bacterial activity, the studies reviewed had quality limitations, and the abstract notes concerns about hydrogen stability in artificially prepared water and potential long-term liver effects. More rigorous research is needed before hydrogen-rich water can be recommended as a primary treatment for gum disease.
Abstract
Background: Hydrogen rich water (HRW) was used as an auxiliary treatment for periodontitis and peri-implantitis due to its good antioxidant properties. However, the stability of artificially added active hydrogen was far less than that of pure natural active hydrogen, which greatly reduced active hydrogen molecules number in HRW. Meanwhile, the effect of HRW was relatively slow. Finally, long-term drinking of HRW may cause abnormal liver function. Hence, this study sought to summarize and analyze the effects of HRW on oral inflammation and oral flora in various studies to determine whether HRW can be used to inhibit dental plaque formation and aliviate oral inflammation. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of HRW and pure water (PW) in the treatment of periodontal diseases published before March 2022 in the PubMed, Web of science, EMBASE, Cochrane, China Knowledge Resource Integrated, Wanfang, and Weipu databases were searched. Changes in the inflammatory factor levels, oxidative stress response, and oral flora were summarized and used as outcome indicators. The quality of included studies was assessed by Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool, and the standardized mean differences (SMD) and the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Review Manager 5.3. Results: In total, 17 studies, comprising 304 subjects, were included in this meta-analysis. Among them, 5 studies had a high risk of bias, and the rest had a certain risk of bias, thus, the total risk of bias was medium to low. The levels of interleukin (IL)-1β (SMD =-0.73; 95% CI: -1.29 to -0.18; P=0.009), tumor necrosis factor alpha (SMD =-2.51; 95% CI: -3.56 to -1.46; P<0.00001), IL-6 (SMD =-1.31; 95% CI: -1.96 to -0.67; P<0.0001), 8-hydroxyguanosine (SMD =-1.61; 95% CI: -2.35 to -0.87; P<0.0001), and reactive oxygen metabolites (SMD =-0.49; 95% CI: -0.91 to -0.06; P=0.02) in the HRW group decreased significantly, while the glutathione peroxidase level increased (SMD =2.5; 95% CI: 1.85 to 3.15; P<0.00001). Additionally, HRW was shown to effectively inhibit oral pathogenic bacteria activity (SMD =-0.91; 95% CI: -1.16 to -0.66; P<0.00001). Conclusions: HRW effectively inhibits the inflammatory reaction, oxidative stress level, and bacterial proliferation activity in patients with periodontal disease. Keywords: Hydrogen rich water (HRW); inflammatory factor; oxidative stress; peri-implantitis; periodontitis.