How does vitamin D affect teeth health?
The most annoying pain in the world has to be sensitive teeth. Hot? Cold? It doesn’t matter what I have, my mouth can’t handle it. While sugary foods can be part of the problem, so can a lack of vitamin D.
Tooth enamel (the barrier protecting your teeth) is mainly made up of calcium and phosphate, and vitamin D plays an important role by increasing the absorption of the calcium and phosphate from foods. By taking vitamin D, you keep your enamel strong and help fight the bacteria responsible for dental caries among other dental health issues.[1]
Vitamin D also plays an important preventative role for expecting mothers. For children under the age of three, early childhood caries (ECC), an infectious condition also known as bottle rot, is when there are one or more decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in a child’s mouth.[2] A study published by The American Academy of Pediatrics looked at the potential of children in their first year to develop ECC. After examining 207 expecting mothers, the study found that the higher vitamin D levels you had during pregnancy, the less likely your child was to develop ECC.[3]
Dental caries and vitamin D deficiency go hand-in-hand. Just like vitamin D deficiency, you are more likely to develop dental caries during the late winter and early spring, when people are more likely to be low in vitamin D.[4]
According to the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), a good way to help your teeth with vitamin D and avoid dental caries is to integrate vitamin D, vitamin C, and niacin into your daily supplements, as well as to practice good dental care.[5]
At the end of the day, the best way to help your teeth is to make sure you get the right vitamins for your enamel, and to keep brushing (just not too hard)! Why not keep your Ddrops next to your toothbrush to help remind you to take your Ddrops?
- Vitamin Council https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/dental-caries/
- “Statement on Early Childhood Caries.” Statement on Early Childhood Caries. American Dental Association, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 July 2017. http://www.ada.org/en/about-the-ada/ada-positions-policies-and-statements/statement-on-early-childhood-caries.
- Schroth, R. et al. “Prenatal Vitamin D and Dental Caries in Infants.” Pediatrics 133.5 (2014): 1277-284. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/04/16/peds.2013-2215
- Vitamin Council https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/dental-caries/
- https://www.acam.org/blogpost/1092863/185723/Vitamin-D-Deficiency-and-Tooth-Decay written in 2008, updated in 2014