Vitamin D is made in the skin from enough exposure to the sun and acquired through your diet. So down here in Florida, how can we be deficient? I didn’t think it was possible until my son who is 12 years as diagnosed as being deficient. He does sports outdoors 5-6 days a week! I still don’t understand why that is the case, but his doctor said it’s more common than you realize. Fast forward 6 months later and I stumbled on an article in a dental journal about how vitamin D deficiency impacts wound healing and implant failure!
Vitamin D Deficiency is caused by:
- Diet – not getting enough from things like fatty fishes like salmon and mackerel; fish oils, egg yolks, beef liver, orange juice and milk fortified with vitamin D.
- Sun exposure – this can be challenging if you use high SPF sunblock or have darker pigmented skin. The high SPF sunscreen is our case as we have 100SPF sunblock.
- Medical conditions – Vitamin D is converted to its active form in the kidneys so people with kidney disease can be at risk. Finally, obesity is a factor as the fat tissue extract Vitamin D from the blood.
This relates to dental treatment for the following reasons:
- INFECTION is increased because Vitamin D helps the immune system fight bacteria. This is a problem with gum disease and infections after teeth are extracted or surgery is done.
- BONE METABOLISM – Vitamin D helps the bone cells breakdown bone and regard bone. This is important with implants – we rely on the bone to grow around the implant to make it part of your body.
- Gingivitis and gum disease – because low levels mean low immune response; low bone growing effect, using the laser to regenerate bone and cure gum disease is less effective.
So, in conclusion, make sure you find out how your Vitamin D levels are doing when you do your annual medical checkup. Also consider checking those levels if your gum health is not what it should be despite treatment.
Learn more about your dental health. Schedule a consultation with Fort Lauderdale dentist Dr. Charmaine Johnson at the Premier Smile Center.
