Vitamin D and the occurrence and treatment of periodontitis – review of literature

Periodontal disease (periodontitis) is a multifactorial
inflammatory disease that affects the tissues of
the periodontium surrounding the teeth and is the
leading cause of tooth loss in the elderly. There is
evidence that the most active form of vitamin D, i.e.
1,25-hydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol) – an important
factor affecting the endocrine function of the body –
may affect the development of chronic inflammation in
tissues. The papers presented in this review indicated
a significant association between vitamin D in blood
serum and parameters such as clinical attachment
level (CAL), periodontal pocket depth (PD), and
bleeding on probing (BOP). Moreover, both 25(OH)
D and 1,25(OH)D decrease expression of IL-8, an
important pro-inflammatory cytokine participating in
the development of periodontitis. Studies on genetic
polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor-encoding
gene (VDR) have shown an increased risk of chronic
periodontitis (ChP) and a reduced risk of aggressive
periodontitis (AgP) in patients inheriting specific
genotypes. Research on the occurrence of the vitamin
D binding protein (DBP) found that patients with
generalized aggressive periodontitis have higher
levels of DBP in serum, but lower levels of DBP in the
gingival crevicular fluid. This paper presents scientific
works discussing the decrease in pocket depth (PD),
reduction of bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival
index (GI), loss of clinical attachment level (CAL),
and loss of the alveolar bone level (BL) following
supplementation with vitamin D in specified doses.