Study: Bleeding Gums May Indicate Need for More Vitamin C

A new study out of the University of Washington (UW) School of Dentistry suggests patients who experience bleeding gums may have a vitamin C deficiency. The study, “Bleeding Tendency and Ascorbic Acid Requirements: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Clinical Trials,” has been published in Nutrition Reviews.

After analyzing data from  15 clinical trials in six countries, involving 1,140 predominantly healthy participants, and data from 8,210 United States residents surveyed in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Nutrition Examination Survey, investigators found that bleeding of the gums on gentle probing or gingival bleeding tendency, bleeding in the eye or retinal hemorrhaging was associated with low vitamin C levels. Additionally, researchers report that bleeding issues were reversed when people with low vitamin C plasma levels increased their daily intake of the nutrient.

The findings suggest current vitamin C recommendations are too low. It also suggests traditional treatment of bleeding gums may need to be reexamined as low vitamin C levels can lead to a bleeding tendency that cannot be treated with good oral hygiene practices, such as flossing.

The association between gingiva bleeding and vitamin C levels was reported more than 30 years, according to the college. At that time gingival bleeding was considered to be a biological marker for low low vitamin C levels.