Your gums are constantly defending against harmful bacteria. If that defense system gets overwhelmed, inflammation sets in. One of the key players in that inflammatory process is an enzyme called matrix metalloproteinase-9, or MMP-9 for short.
Think of MMP-9 as molecular scissors that are supposed to help with normal tissue repair and maintenance. When gum disease is present, though, these scissors go into overdrive and start breaking down the tissues they’re meant to protect. The more severe the gum disease, the more active these enzymes become.
The result is a cycle of inflammation and tissue breakdown that can ultimately lead to tooth loss.
And that brings us to a study published last month in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, which followed 101 people who were deficient in vitamin D. Some had healthy gums. Some had either gingivitis (early gum disease) or periodontitis (advanced gum disease). All were given supplemental vitamin D to raise their levels to the recommended range, and researchers carefully monitored what happened to the destructive MMP-9 enzymes in their gum tissue.
What happened was…those levels went down, a sign that the health of participants’ gums had improved.
Those with healthy gums had a 47% decrease, while those with gum disease had drops of 29% for gingivitis and 27% for periodontitis. Notably, these improvements came only from getting their D levels into an optimal range. No dental treatment was provided.
Our results also showed that restoration of serum vitamin D levels decreased MMP-9 levels in both healthy individuals and those with periodontal disease. This suggests that increasing serum vitamin D levels may help control excessive MMP-9 production in periodontal tissues, potentially reducing disease progression.
The authors also noted that those with more severe gum disease showed the greatest absolute improvements in inflammation markers, suggesting that those who need the most help may benefit the most from optimizing their vitamin D status.
Many people are surprised to learn that their D levels are low, but if you’re like most Americans, living most of your life indoors, you may well be. Sunlight is our best source of this essential nutrient, after all, as UV rays convert a substance in our skin called 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D3. You can learn more about maintaining a good level of vitamin D here and here.
That said, it’s important to keep in mind that vitamin D optimization isn’t a silver bullet. Nutritional interventions tend to work best when part of a comprehensive approach to oral health. The whole diet still matters, as does hygiene, regular professional care, and attention to lifestyle factors such as exercise, sleep, and stress that can affect oral health as much as systemic health.
And nutrition is just as much about prevention as it is addressing any current problems. The fact that people in this study who had healthy gums also showed improvement in inflammatory markers suggests as much – that optimizing vitamin D can also be a part of maintaining optimal health.
If you’re curious about whether vitamin D or other nutritional deficiencies might be playing a role in your oral health challenges, we’d be happy to talk with you about testing options and how nutritional optimization might fit into your personalized care plan. Just ask us about it when scheduling your next appointment with us!
