MODERN-Dental evaluates the effects of semaglutide (GLP-1RA) treatment on gingival/periodontal inflammation, oral microbiome composition, and cardiometabolic biomarkers in adolescents with obesity, aiming to better understand oral-systemic interactions and improve integrated pediatric healthcare strategies.
This ancillary mechanistic pilot study, embedded within the ongoing MODERN trial, evaluates whether semaglutide (a GLP-1 receptor agonist, GLP-1RA) treatment improves periodontal health in adolescents with extreme obesity by reducing gingival inflammation, altering the oral microbiome, and decreasing systemic and local inflammatory biomarkers. The study also examines relationships between oral and metabolic health outcomes to better understand shared biological pathways linking obesity, inflammation, and periodontal disease. In addition, it explores whether adjunctive dental cleaning further enhances clinical and biological treatment effects. Findings will generate evidence on oral-systemic interactions in pediatric obesity and help inform integrated medical and dental approaches aimed at improving prevention, early detection, and management strategies in pediatric populations.
Findings from this study may improve understanding of the connections between pediatric obesity, cardiometabolic risk, and periodontal health. The project could support earlier identification of oral-systemic disease risk, promote integrated medical-dental care approaches, and inform preventive strategies and oral health education for children and adolescents in Kentucky. Results may also help guide future discussions on integrating oral health more fully into comprehensive pediatric healthcare models.
Breakthrough Ideas Grant (BIG) Program. Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center, the Bill Gatton Foundation.