Close Banner

This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

You Need Sufficient Vitamin D To Support Your Tooth & Gum Health*

Author:

Morgan Chamberlain

May 18, 2023

Former mbg Supplement Editor

By Morgan Chamberlain

Former mbg Supplement Editor

Morgan Chamberlain is mindbodygreen's former supplement editor. She graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in magazine journalism and a minor in nutrition.

Image by W2 Photography / Stocksy

May 18, 2023

You know the drill when it comes to dental hygiene: Brush twice a day, make sure to floss, and don't miss your annual checkups. But what if I told you that getting your vitamins is just as important for strong and healthy teeth? In fact, research shows getting enough vitamin D is a key factor in determining your oral health.* Surprised? I'll explain.

What vitamin D does for your teeth

vitamin D3 potency+

It turns out vitamin D plays an important role in protecting your smile.* It's necessary for a variety of oral functions—including keeping your teeth strong, maintaining gum and bone health, and supporting your mouth's immune response.*

Vitamin D has even been shown to accelerate tooth movement during orthodontic work where it's desired. Whether you're still in braces or well beyond, evidence shows that maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels is associated with better oral development and health 1 at all ages.*

Promotes strong teeth

Similar to bones and cartilage, teeth are mineralized organs, and minerals (specifically, calcium and phosphate) are utilized to strengthen enamel through a process called tooth mineralization. Similar to its role in supporting strong and healthy bones, vitamin D is involved in proper tooth mineralization.* The essential fat-soluble micronutrient helps the body absorb calcium and phosphate, which are vital for building and maintaining strong teeth and aid in the regulation of enamel 2 and dentin 3 formation.*

Interestingly, the relationship between vitamin D and calcium plus phosphate is a symbiotic one. While D helps with the absorption of these minerals, the vitamin D signaling pathways also require sufficient levels of calcium and phosphate in the tooth cells to promote proper mineralization of teeth 4.* This fact underscores the importance of achieving nutritional sufficiency for all the essential vitamins and minerals.

Maintains periodontal health

Vitamin D promotes the health of the gums and bone that support and surround your teeth (aka the periodontium 5).* In addition to supporting tooth structure, the periodontium protects the tooth from unwanted oral bacteria and attaches the tooth roots to the bone and gums.

When it comes to periodontal health, vitamin D aids in mineralization and anti-inflammatory functions and also helps maintain the periodontium's integrity 6.* Which raises two questions: Have you flossed today, and have you taken your vitamin D3 supplement?

Supports the immune response in our mouth

After the skin barrier, our oral cavities (aka mouths) are really the second line of defense when it comes to immunity. Vitamin D has a global role to play throughout the body for immune health 7, and oral immune function is no exception.*

As mentioned, vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties, which help support the oral immune response.* Additionally, this essential vitamin has the ability to stimulate antimicrobial peptide production 8, which is a critical tool in our adaptive immune response.* All in all, vitamin D is not a bad player to have on your immune defense team.*

Vitamin D and oral health

It's clear that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining the health of our teeth and gums.* In addition to the research on how D helps keep our pearly whites healthy, many clinical trials have also explored the use of oral vitamin D supplementation to promote oral health.*

It turns out vitamin D supplementation has been shown to support:

Tooth mineralization 9 (helps maintain healthy tooth enamel)*
Oral immune response 10 (decreases salivary cytokines—signaling proteins involved in immune response)*
Periodontal health 11 (promotes healthy gums)*

The takeaway

For optimal oral health, consider adding a high-quality vitamin D supplement like mindbodygreen's vitamin D3 potency+ to your dental hygiene routine.* vitamin D3 potency+ is a high-potency daily supplement featuring sustainable, organic algal D3 with built-in absorption technology via three organic oils. At 5,000 IU of D3 per serving (in just one gelcap), this premium supplement helps you achieve and maintain vitamin D sufficiency so D can do its job in supporting oral and whole-body health.*

If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medications, consult with your doctor before starting a supplement routine. It is always optimal to consult with a health care provider when considering what supplements are right for you.