Vitamin D is Associated with Prevalence of Decay, Missing, and Filled Teeth in Older Adults

by | Aug 27, 2024 | 2024, Oral Health, Recent Articles, Vitamin D - Recommended Levels

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Science Writer. Regression models showed that individuals who were severely deficient in vitamin D were 1.12 times more likely to have decayed, missing, and fill the teeth [higher DMFT scores].

oral health dentistConsuming high amounts of sugar transforms the oral environment into an acidic state increasing the growth of acid producing bacteria1. Such an acidic environment causes the breakdown of tooth enamel and dentin leading to tooth decay or dental caries2. A patient’s oral hygiene practices and overall health can either lessen or contribute to the severity of tooth decay3. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to tooth decay since vitamin D regulates calcium and phosphate metabolism, both of which are essential for maintenance of healthy teeth and bones4,5. Although vitamin D has been associated with a prevalence in tooth decay, investigators in this study believe the research remains inconclusive due to inconsistencies in design, population selection, and diagnosis criteria6-10. In the current trial, researchers investigated the prevalence of tooth decay in relation to vitamin D levels in older adults10.

Researchers utilized the data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 2011 and 2016. Researchers specifically included individuals over the age of 65 who completed dental examinations and serum vitamin D tests. The dental examination was conducted by a licensed dentist examining 2 indicators: decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index and untreated dental caries. Vitamin D concentration was classified into 4 categories: normal (≥ 75 nmol/L), insufficient (50-74.9 nmol/L), deficient (25-49.9 nmol/L) and severely deficient (< 25 nmol/L). Demographic information was collected on all participants and regression models were used to calculate the relationship between vitamin D levels, untreated dental caries, and DMFT scores [decayed, missing, and filled teeth].

A total of 2723 participants were included in this analysis. The mean age of participants was 73.07 ±5.35 years old with equal distribution of females and males. The average prevalence of untreated dental caries was 35.1% and the average DMFT score was 17.73 ±8.34. Researchers observed a higher rate of untreated dental caries among Mexican Americans (48.7%, P <0.001) and (38.10%, P =0.008). Prevalence data also showed that individuals deficient or severely deficient in serum vitamin D had higher rates of untreated dental caries (40.9% and 40.8%, P <0.001, respectively). Individuals who were severely deficient and deficient in serum vitamin D also had higher DMFT scores (19.33 ±8.56 and 18.96 ±8.30, P =0.002, respectively). Regression models showed that individuals who were severely deficient in vitamin D were 1.12 times more likely to have decayed, missing, and fill the teeth [higher DMFT scores] even after adjusting for gender, country of birth, age, and race/ ethnicity (RR = 1.12, P <0.05). Researchers observed an association between vitamin D and untreated dental caries in the unadjusted model; however, after adjusting for race and ethnicity, gender, age, country of birth, researchers saw no significant association between vitamin D and untreated caries.

Overall, researchers found that lower levels of vitamin D were associated with higher scores in the DMFT index among older adults. Researchers of this analysis believed that this study added to the existing body of literature reflecting the association between vitamin D levels and the prevalence of tooth decay specifically in older adults. Additional studies will be needed to verify these results.

Source: Hung, Man, Amir Mohajeri, Mahsa Sadri, Elahe Khodabandeh, Ibrahim Zeitoun, and Martin S. Lipsky. “The Association of Vitamin D Levels and Dental Caries in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.” Nutrients 16, no. 14 (2024): 2307.

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

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Posted August 27, 2024.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

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