Investigating oral and systemic pathways between unhealthy and healthy dietary patterns to periodontitis in adolescents: A population‐based study

Aim To investigate pathways between unhealthy and healthy dietary patterns and periodontitis in adolescents (18–19 years of age). Materials and Methods This population‐based study (n = 2515) modelled direct and mediated pathways (via biofilm and obesity) from patterns of healthy diet (fruits, fibre, vegetables, and dairy) and unhealthy diet (sugars, snacks, and salty/fast foods) with initial periodontitis (bleeding on probing [BoP], probing depth [PD] ≥ 4 mm, clinical attachment loss [CAL] ≥ 4 mm), moderate periodontitis (BoP, PD ≥ 5 mm, and CAL ≥ 5 mm), and European Federation of Periodontology and the American Academy of Periodontology (EFP‐AAP) periodontitis definitions, adjusting for sex, socio‐economic status, smoking, and alcohol, through structural equation modelling (α = 5%). Results Higher values of healthy diet were associated with lower values of initial periodontitis (standardized coefficient [SC] = −0.160; p