Childhood Dental Caries about 2X more likely if Vitamin D is less than 20 ng – review April 2024

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A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Serum Vitamin D Levels and Caries in the Permanent Teeth of Children and Adolescents

Dentistry Journal Volume 12 Issue 4 10.3390/dj12040117
by Roxana Buzatu 1ORCID,Magda Mihaela Luca 2,* and Bogdan Andrei Bumbu 3

• 1 Department of Dental Aesthetics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Revolutiei Boulevard 9, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
• 2 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
• 3 Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410073 Oradea, Romania

This systematic review critically evaluates the association between serum Vitamin D levels and dental caries incidence in the permanent teeth of children and adolescents. The search strategy comprised three databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase), up to November 2023, targeting studies on the correlation between Vitamin D and dental caries in permanent dentition. The eligibility criteria focused on observational studies involving children and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years with permanent dentition. The screening process, guided by the PRISMA guidelines and the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for quality assessment, resulted in the inclusion of eight studies conducted across various global regions from 2013 to 2023. The analysis revealed that Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency were prevalent among the study populations, ranging from 17.3% to 69.4%.

Specifically, children and adolescents with Vitamin D insufficiency (<50 nmol/L) were found to have significantly higher odds of developing caries, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.13 to 2.57. Conversely, two studies indicated a protective effect of higher Vitamin D levels, with an OR of 0.80 and 0.59, respectively, for caries among children and adolescents with serum levels ≥ 50 nmol/L, suggesting an inverse relationship between Vitamin D status and caries risk. The results indicate both the protective role of adequate serum levels of Vitamin D above 20 ng/mL and the increased risk associated with insufficient levels below this threshold. However, the variations in study quality, methodologies and geographic settings underscore the challenges in drawing universal conclusions. Despite these limitations, our review suggests that improving Vitamin D status could be a beneficial component of preventive strategies against dental caries in children and adolescents, warranting further research to clarify the clinical significance of our findings.
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

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VitaminDWiki – Dental category contains:

116 Dental items

Some Dental studies

• Vitamin D cut dental caries in half 80 years ago – meta-analysis 2013 80 years ago
• Caries (tooth decay) and Vitamin D - 23+ studies
• Periodontitis reduced by Vitamin D - many studies
  • Periodontal Disease and Vitamin D - interview and transcript - GRH, Grant July 2023
  • Severe periodontitis is half as likely at 60 ng of vitamin D – Sept 2021
  • Vitamin D may provide the most peridontal benefits of all nutraceuticals – May 2018
• Risk of Oral Surgery reduced by Vitamin D – scoping review Nov 2021
• Some Dental Malocclusions 5X more likely if low vitamin D – June 2021
• Grinding teeth while sleeping (sleep bruxism) 6 X more likely if low vitamin D – Jan 2021
• Early tooth decay 1.9 X more likely if a poor Vitamin D receptor – July 2017
• 7 Intervention AND Dental studies
• 19 items listed in BOTH Dental and Infant or Child
• 7 listed in BOTH Dental and Vitamin D Receptor