This cross-sectional study investigates whether
calcium intakes from dairy and non-dairy sources, and absolute intakes of various dairy products, are associated with
periodontitis. The
calcium intake (mg/day) of 135 older Danish adults was estimated by a diet history interview and divided into dairy and non-dairy
calcium. Dairy food intake (g/day) was classified into four groups: milk, cheese, fermented foods and other foods.
Periodontitis was defined as the number of teeth with attachment loss ≥3 mm. Intakes of total dairy
calcium (Incidence-rate ratio (
IRR) = 0.97; p = 0.021),
calcium from milk (
IRR = 0.97; p = 0.025) and fermented foods (
IRR = 0.96; p = 0.03) were inversely and significantly associated with
periodontitis after adjustment for age, gender, education,
sucrose intake, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity,
vitamin D intake,
heart disease, visits to the dentist, use of
dental floss and
bleeding on probing, but non-dairy
calcium,
calcium from cheese and other types of dairy food intakes were not. Total dairy foods (
IRR = 0.96; p = 0.003), milk (
IRR = 0.96; p = 0.028) and fermented foods intakes (
IRR = 0.97; p = 0.029) were associated with reduced risk of
periodontitis, but cheese and other dairy foods intakes were not. These results suggest that dairy
calcium, particularly from milk and fermented products, may protect against
periodontitis. Prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.