The many gingival fibers that connect the tooth to the gingiva, the tissue area that surrounds our teeth, allow healthy teeth to rest firmly in the gums. Fibroblasts, which are cells that help form connective tissue, are found in the gingiva. Researchers at Tohoku University have shown that gum stiffness affects the properties of gum fibroblasts, which in turn affects the likelihood of inflammation and how difficult it is to create gum fibers.
Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports on January 24, 2023.”We found that soft gums lead to inflammation and inhibit the development of gum fibers,” says Associate Professor Masahiro Yamada of Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Dentistry.
It has long been known that individuals with strong or rigid gums are less prone to gingival recessions. This is where the gingiva begins to recede and expose the root of the tooth. Many factors can lead to gum recession, such as gum disease, excessive brushing, and tobacco chewing. But this is the first time that gum stiffness has been attributed to biological reactions.
Although fibroblasts play an important role in gingival maintenance, repair, and healing, they also produce various inflammatory and tissue-degrading biomolecules that degrade gingival fibers. In addition, fibroblasts are associated with immune responses to pathogens.
Yamada, along with his colleague Professor Hiroshi Egusa, also from Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Dentistry, created an artificial culture medium that simulated soft or hard gingiva and cultured human gingival fibroblasts on it.
They found that stiffness simulated by hard gums activated an intracellular anti-inflammatory system in gingival fibroblasts that prevented inflammation. Yet the soft stiffness of the gingiva suppressed the fibroblastic anti-inflammatory system. This increased the likelihood of inflammation and led to less collagen synthesis.
“Our research is the first to demonstrate the biological mechanisms at play with respect to patient gingival characteristics,” added Yamada. “The results are expected to accelerate the development of advanced biomaterials to control local inflammation or microdevices that simulate the microenvironment of inflammatory conditions.”
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