Effect of High-grade Alcohol Intake on Rat’s Oral Health

Objectives: Alcohol abuse is one of the historical main social problems. Alcohol users are more prone to get sick due to alterations in their immune system. Aim: to evaluate the effect of high-grade alcohol intake (HAI) on the oral health of rats.
Methods: Wistar rats (250 g, n=6 per group) were used. Firstly, alcoholic rats (5 ml of ethanol 2g/kg administered by gavage, twice a day, during 12 days) and control rats (water administration in the same conditions) were compared. Secondly, alcoholic rats, receiving alcohol in the same conditions but during 20 days, were compared to respective controls. At the end of these periods biochemical and morphometrical evaluations were performed.
Results: Twelve days of HAI increased the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS, measured by RT-PCR, p<0.001) and iNOS activity in the gingival tissue, as compared to controls (p<0.05). Additionally, 12 days of HAI inhibited salivary secretion from the submandibular gland (GSM) (p<0.001) and, it increased iNOS activity in the same organ. The distance method, that assess the distance between the cement-enamel junction and the alveolar bone associated to lower molars, did not revealed bone loss between 12 days alcoholic rats and their controls. On the other hand, 20 days of HAI increased the prostaglandin E2 content measured by radioimmunoassay in gingiva and SMG, as compared to controls (p<0.05 and p<0,01, respectively). Moreover, 20 days of HAI increased bone loss in the lingual face of lower jaw, assessed by the distance method, as compared to their controls (p<0.01).
Conclusions: Prolonged high-grade alcohol consumption produces an inflammatory condition in the oral tissues causing hyposialia and also leads to alveolar bone loss, which can promote teeth loss. These results support the hypothesis of alcohol intake as a risk factor to development of oral pathologies. CONICET-PIP 076/2012-2014 and UBACyT 2013-2016/0023; 2014-2017/0010.