Summary of Findings.
- Children receiving Vitamin D supplements have a lower number of dental cavities. (119-130)
- There is a strong association between low Vitamin D levels and increased periodontal disease. (132)
- Elderly patients with low Vitamin D levels have a higher rate of tooth loss than those with high Vitamin D levels. (133)
There is strong evidence for a relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and dental cavities. Several studies were conducted in the 1930's and 1940's (119-130) and the majority concluded that supplementing children with Vitamin D prevented cavities.
In 1941 another study demonstrated the preventative effects against cavities of what at the time were thought to be massive doses of Vitamin D. (131)
More recently studies have shown an association between vitamin D levels and periodontal disease and tooth loss.
In one study of 145 adults that was originally designed to determine the effect of Vitamin D on bone loss, demonstrated supplementation was linked to a reduction in tooth loss in men and women over the age of 65. The patients were given supplements of 1000mg of calcium and 400-600IU of Vitamin D.
Over the three year period of the study 27% of the subjects talking placebo lost one or more teeth compared to just 13% of those taking the supplements. (132)
Unfortunately, once again the dose used was far too low to achieve the maximum benefit possible.
In another study of 11000 subjects published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is was demonstrated that in men and women over the age of 50 low Vitamin D levels were associated with more tooth loss than those with high vitamin D levels. Those with low Vitamin D levels had 23-27% more tooth loss than those in the highest range. (133)
Despite these findings the importance of vitamin D is rarely mentioned in dentistry.
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