Effectiveness of Omega-3 Fatty Acids as an Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planing in Periodontitis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Abstract
Background: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease driven largely by a dysregulated host immune response to bacterial biofilm. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties and have been proposed as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP), but findings across individual trials remain inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of adjunctive omega-3 fatty acids compared with SRP alone or SRP plus placebo in patients with periodontitis.
Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, grey literature and Google Scholar was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and Cochrane Handbook guidelines. Randomized controlled trials comparing SRP with adjunctive omega-3 supplementation to SRP alone or SRP plus placebo were included. Probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were pooled as mean differences (MD), given that these outcomes were measured in the same unit (millimetres) across studies, while gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP) and plaque index (PI) were pooled as standardized mean differences (SMD), reflecting differing measurement scales. A random-effects model (Restricted Maximum-Likelihood method) was used, with heterogeneity quantified by the I2 statistic. Two sensitivity analyses were performed for each outcome: a leave-one-out analysis and a separate analysis excluding the one study whose data were converted from…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 617 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- eggNOG 5.0: a hierarchical, functionally and phylogenetically annotated orthology resource based on 5090 organisms and 2502 viruses
- Online Survival Analysis Software to Assess the Prognostic Value of Biomarkers Using Transcriptomic Data in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
- OptiType: precision HLA typing from next-generation sequencing data
- Nicotinic Cholinergic System and COVID-19: In Silico Identification of an Interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Nicotinic Receptors with Potential Therapeutic Targeting Implications
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells have three Omega class glutathione S-transferases acting as 1-Cys thiol transferases
- Hemolysis at low blood flow rates: in-vitro and in-silico evaluation of a centrifugal blood pump
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.