BOSTON--Vitamin D may help prevent gingivitis due to its anti-inflammatory properties, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition(82, 3:575-80, 2005).
Researchers from Boston University, Tufts University and Brigham and Women's Hospital used information from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with incidence of gingival inflammation. Analysis of data collected from 6,700 individuals aged 13 to greater than 90 years who had never smoked, indicated subjects in the highest 25(OH)D quintile were 20 percent less likely to bleed on gingival probing than subjects in the lowest 25(OH)D quintile. The association did not change after adjustment for confounding factors including age, sex, race-ethnicity, income, body mass index, diabetes, use of oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, intake of vitamin C, missing teeth, full crown coverage, presence of tartar and frequency of dental visits; and did not differ between users and nonusers of vitamin and mineral supplements.
The researchers concluded the anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D may reduce susceptibility to gingival inflammation, and noted gingivitis may be a useful clinical model to evaluate vitamin D's anti-inflammatory capability.
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