It has long been understood that vitamin D is good for the skeletal system - our bones and teeth. But, did you know that adequate vitamin D can not only support good oral hygiene but also heal existing cavities? And would it surprise you to learn that the vitamin D level of a mother will affect the oral health of her children?

Let's examine some studies that give us more reason to monitor and keep our vitamin D levels between 40-60 ng/ml year-round.

Did we have the answer in the 1930's?

Yes! And it was not grandma's chicken soup. Dr. May Mellanby, who interestingly enough lived until she was 96, spent decades researching diet, vitamin D and their relation to tooth decay.
 
Dr. Mellanby conducted dietary trials in the 1920's and 1930's in England, using children living in institutions where she could control their diet and monitor their progress. She wanted to find the role of diet and vitamin D in preventing and healing cavities (in her papers they are called 'caries').

The most famous study, which is referenced and has made the rounds of the Internet, shows that with a diet high in vitamin D and calcium,  tooth decay is not only prevented, it is reversed.

In a study published in March, 1932, The Influence of a Cereal-free Diet Rich in Vitamin D and Calcium on Dental Caries in Children, she found that a diet high in vitamin D (approximately 2,000 IU/day), high in calcium, higher in fats, and lower in carbohydrates - was the optimal condition not only to arrest cavity development, but to heal existing cavities. She studied children of about 5 ½ years old for 6 months, giving them this highly specialized diet. After 6 months there were no new cavities and none of the old ones had spread.

Interestingly enough in this same paper she mentioned a hypothesis that vitamin D levels during pregnancy could have significant impact on the future health of the child's teeth. She states:

Is it your Mom's fault you have bad teeth?

If we fast forward to the modern day, Robert J. Schroth, DMD, MSc, PhD, led a team to study just that. They were seeking to find out if the vitamin D level of the mother affected the dental health of the child in the first year of life, measuring tooth calcification and early childhood caries (ECC). In his paper, Prenatal Caries and Vitamin D in Infants, Dr. Schroth et al. concluded that yes, it did indeed matter. He found that the children with ECC came from mothers with the lowest levels of vitamin D (the average vitamin D level was 19 ng/ml, but the average from mothers of children with ECC was 16 ng/ml).

Recommend 40 ng/ml or higher for pregnant women

This is just another study that confirms that vitamin D in pregnancy affects the health outcomes of children. Check out our Disease incidence prevention chart to see other conditions that are positively affected by having a sufficient mother.

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