Biocultural pathways linking periodontal disease expression to food insecurity, immune dysregulation, and nutrition.

We identify two main findings: (a) periodontal disease contributes to and may result from immune dysregulation, particularly of neutrophils, and (b) an immune response to chronic infection such as periodontal disease is metabolically expensive for the body to maintain and likely depletes serum micronutrient levels. Both micronutrient status and serum neutrophil counts affect multiple skeletal and physiological phenotypes and thus position periodontal disease in whole-body context.