Vitamin D May Prevent Tooth Decay

Vitamin D May Prevent Tooth Decay
The sunshine vitamin's potential role in preventing tooth decay is the latest on its long list of health benefits.
TUESDAY, Dec. 4, 2012 — Vitamin D might help prevent tooth decay, a new review of existing studies published in the journal Nutrition Reviews found.

By Annie Hauser, Everyday Health Staff Writer
The review includes data from 3,000 children enrolled in 24 clinical trials published from the 1920s to the 1980s. Overall, the trials showed that vitamin D supplementation led to a 50 percent drop in the incidence of tooth decay, perhaps because vitamin D helps the body absorb the tooth-building calcium it needs.

In the trials, the vitamin was delivered either via supplemental UV radiation or by diet products, such as cod liver oil, which contain it.

Philippe Hujoel, PhD, DDS, of the University of Washington, conducted the trial, saying his main goal was to summarize the existing research, so dental professionals could "take a fresh look at this vitamin D question."

But Hujoel's results come as no surprise to researchers who have also studied vitamin D and dental health. "The findings from the University of Washington reaffirm the importance of vitamin D for dental health," Michael Hollick, PhD, MD, professor of medicine at the Boston University Medical Center told Science Daily. He went on to say that children who are vitamin D deficient experience late teething and a risk of tooth decay.......