Blood vitamin D was not associated with caries in 326 children

No link between current 25(OH)D levels and caries indices

A cross-sectional study published in the journal Oral Health & Preventive Dentistry found no statistically significant association between current serum vitamin D levels and caries experience in children. It covered 326 children aged 3 to 15, without systemic disease, who presented to the paediatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Ordu, Turkey, in November and December 2023.

25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were taken from routine blood tests and the intraoral examination was performed on the same day; the data were analysed retrospectively. Caries experience was measured by the dmft and DMFT indices according to World Health Organization criteria.

The mean 25(OH)D level was 50.08 ± 16.68 nmol/l and the mean combined caries index 3.66 ± 3.44. There was no association between the two (P greater than 0.05).

One difference was nevertheless significant, though not a dental one: girls had lower vitamin D levels than boys — 46.03 ± 15.21 versus 54.63 ± 17.10 nmol/l. There were 172 girls in the sample (52.8%) and 154 boys (47.2%).

The finding does not mean that vitamin D plays no role in tooth development. It means that a single measurement of the level at the time of examination does not explain how much caries a child has.

Limitations

A cross-sectional design measures vitamin D level and caries at the same point in time, so it can say nothing about causality or about levels during the period when the teeth were developing. The sample comes from a single hospital and from only two months, November and December, so it does not cover seasonal fluctuations in vitamin D, and the authors themselves call for longitudinal studies that would comprehensively address possible confounding factors.

For your practice

• A vitamin D result a parent brings in does not change caries risk assessment — continue to assess risk by diet, hygiene, fluoride exposure and previous caries experience.
• Do not present vitamin D supplementation to a parent as a measure against caries; these data provide no basis for that claim.
• The difference in levels between girls and boys is a question for the paediatrician, not a reason to change the dental treatment plan.