Children deficient in vitamin D ten times more likely to have severe early childhood caries

 The Fluoridation RecordDec. 20, 2021
A newsletter of East Coast Science News, Belchertown, Massachusetts, USA
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Children deficient in vitamin D ten times more likely to have severe early
childhood caries, report Winnipeg, Richmond investigators
Two case-control studies of children younger than 72 months in Winnipeg, Manitoba
and Richmond, Virginia have found that children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) had
significantly lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels than those who were caries-free, and children
with deficient 25(OH)D levels were 10 times more likely to have S-ECC.
The investigators from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of
Manitoba found that having higher 25(OH)D and calcium concentrations, as well as being

breastfed in infancy, were significantly and independently associated with lower odds of S-ECC.
“Vitamin D has long been considered an important factor that affects overall health and
well-being including the oral health of children. In fact, some of the earliest research on the
topic was first published nearly a century ago. Pioneering work by Lady May Mellanby provided
the first evidence that vitamin D deficiency was associated with dental caries in children. More
recently, there has been a growing body of evidence that low serum concentrations of
25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are associated with increased caries experience,”write the
authors in Nutrients, December 14.
The researchers report a significant difference between the children with S-ECC and
those who were caries-free despite both groups having relatively high levels of vitamin D.
“Overall, children in this study had mean 25(OH)D concentrations considered to be in
the optimal range (i.e., greater than 75 nmol/L). Despite these relatively good concentrations,
we were still able to detect a difference between children with caries and those who were
caries-free,” they reported.
They also found a significant difference concerning dental insurance.
“Interestingly, we found that the presence of dental insurance was associated with
increased odds for S-ECC. This might be explained by the fact that S-ECC is heavily influenced by
poverty and many of the children recruited with caries had government insurance intended for
low-income populations. For instance, registered First Nations children in Canada have dental
benefits, but because of numerous systemic and access-to-care challenges, they have some of
the worst oral health conditions. The same may be true for some of the children recruited at
our US site. The presence of dental insurance does not guarantee early and regular access to
preventive oral health care,” they reported.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124465
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Michael F. Dolan, editor. December 20, 2021, Vol. 5 No. 108. The newsletter is distributed by
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