The role of vitamin D in dentistry: a literature overview

OBJECTIVES Vitamin D is increasingly recognized for its role in maintaining adequate bone mineralization through the regulation of serum calcium and phosphorus levels, as well as for its support of the immune system. However, studies reporting its effects on human jaw bones and on the prevention of periodontitis and peri-implantitis are rare and poorly evaluated. This literature overview highlights the hormonal and paracrine pathways of vitamin D, its sources of derivation, its complex metabolic processes, and its functions, particularly in the prevention of bone loss in implantology and periodontology. MATERIALS AND METHODS This manuscript is a literature overview of the national and international literature on this topic; the scientific data published to date have been collected, and the characteristics, function and clinical utility for vitamin D consumption in periodontology and implant dentistry have been analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS In humans, vitamin D is introduced through diet (accounting for 20% of the requirement), where it is found in the form of D2 or D3, and from the skin, stimulated by ultraviolet solar rays, in the form of D3, in an amount equal to 80% of the requirement. Vitamin D3 is the most effective in producing biological effects. After being introduced, vit. D3 goes to the liver where is converted into calcidiol, whose blood concentration can be measured and stored in this form. When needed, it is transported to the kidneys, where it is converted into calcitriol, which is the biologically active form. Therefore, vitamin D in the body is simultaneously present in at least four forms: D2, cholecalciferol (D3), calcidiol (measurable through plasma levels), and calcitriol (the biologically active form). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Emerging scientific evidence suggests that vitamin D plays a significant role, although as a co-factor, in the success of implant and periodontal therapies.