D is for Dental Health

The connection between vitamin D and calcium is well known: without vitamin D, the body can't absorb calcium, and without calcium, bones and teeth become brittle. But vitamin D is now gaining respect for yet another important function—the prevention of gum disease.

In research at Boston University, dentist Thomas Dietrich recently compared blood levels of vitamin D from more than 11,000 subjects in a nationwide survey with the participants' dental records. He found that those people over the age of 50 who had the highest levels of vitamin D were the least likely to have periodontal disease, a chronic condition in which gums become so inflamed from plaque that the tissue and bone supporting the teeth eventually erode away. Dietrich hypothesizes that newly discovered anti-inflammatory effects of the vitamin could explain the benefit.

"There is the discussion on whether periodontal disease causes other systemic diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease and stroke," notes Dietrich. One explanation is that these diseases, all characterized by inflammation, have a common cause, he adds.

Vitamin D is found in fish and fortified milk, and the body also makes it after 10 to 20 minutes in the summer sun and at lower latitudes all year. But Dietrich says that recommended daily allowances—400 international units (IU) for everyone, 600 IU for older people—may not be enough to garner all the vitamin's benefits. Aim for higher intakes without exceeding 2,000 IU, the recommended upper level. Getting this much through food and the sun is difficult, however, particularly if you live in a northern clime. Dietrich himself, who lives in Boston, augments his diet with a vitamin D supplement.