OdontologyJul 7, 2026

How Changes in Gene Regulation Affect Gum Aging, Gum Disease, and Possible Treatments

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jul 8, 2026

Abstract

Gingival aging may be influenced by various biological and environmental factors.

Aging gingiva shows signs of structural changes such as epithelial thinning and connective tissue remodeling.
Immunosenescence, inflammaging, and cellular senescence may contribute to altered gingival health in older individuals.
Epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation and histone modification could link aging and environmental exposures to changes in inflammation and tissue repair.
The relationship between biological aging and periodontal disease susceptibility is emphasized.
Current knowledge of gingival aging suggests potential connections to frailty and overall health.
Gingiva-specific longitudinal human studies are limited, making epigenetic biomarkers and aging-targeted interventions still investigational.

Simplified

Gingival aging has become increasingly important as increasing number of individuals retain their natural dentition into older age. Beyond epithelial thinning, connective tissue remodeling, vascular alterations, and delayed healing, aging gingiva may be affected by immunosenescence, inflammaging, cellular senescence, and epigenetic dysregulation. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA-mediated regulation, may link chronological aging and cumulative environmental exposures to altered inflammatory signaling, extracellular matrix turnover, oxidative stress responses, and tissue repair. This narrative review summarizes current knowledge of the structural, immunological, vascular, and epigenetic features of gingival aging, with particular emphasis on the relationship among biological aging, epigenetic regulation, and periodontal disease susceptibility. The review also highlights the implications of gingival aging for frailty, oral-systemic health, and future preventive or therapeutic strategies. Because gingiva-specific longitudinal human evidence remains limited, epigenetic biomarkers and aging-targeted interventions should be regarded as promising yet investigational approaches requiring further validation.

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Competing interests

Declarations. Conflict of interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethical approval: Not applicable. This article is a review and did not involve human participants, human data, human biological material, or animals in a new experimental study. Informed consent: Not applicable. This article is a review and did not involve human participants, identifiable participant data, or patient images in a new study.

PubMed

How Changes in Gene Regulation Affect Gum Aging, Gum Disease, and Possible Treatments

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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