Vitamin D is incredibly important for your health. In fact, vitamin D deficiency can cause a wide range of serious problems. Lacking sufficient amounts of this nutrient can cause problems with your skeletal, muscular, and cardiovascular systems. It can even lead to the development of cancer. However, did you know that vitamin D is also important for your teeth?
The Components of Teeth
Understanding the impact of vitamin D on teeth first involves understanding exactly what teeth are made of. Essentially, your teeth are made of four major substances known as pulp, enamel, dentin, and cementum.
You may think that teeth are bones; however, this is not the case. Sure they are both white and involve calcium, but those are the only major similarities. Bones are alive in the sense that they are constantly being broken down and replaced with new tissue.
In teeth, only the inner layers are alive. The outside part – the enamel – is not. Thus, when you chip a tooth, it cannot restore itself like a broken bone can. The enamel ultimately serves to protect the inner layers of pulp and dentin.
The pulp is the innermost part that contains the blood vessels which enter through the root. Outside this is the harder dentin which is covered by the enamel – what we see when we look at our teeth. The cementum referenced earlier is a hard substance under the gums that holds the tooth in place.
How Does Vitamin D Affect Teeth?
Since teeth are not bones, you may not think that vitamin D is important for them. However, the common link is calcium. Both bones and teeth require calcium and phosphate. Vitamin D plays an important role in getting both of these substances to your bones and teeth.
Essentially, vitamin D helps our body to absorb calcium and phosphate in the intestinal tract. Thus, without adequate levels of vitamin D, your body will not be able to efficiently absorb calcium and phosphate even if your diet includes a lot of it.
Calcium and phosphate are both important for the production and maintenance of tooth enamel. Remember that enamel serves as the hard coating protecting the tender insides of your teeth. Without vitamin D, enamel will weaken and led to cavities and other tooth issues.
Vitamin D was also found to be important for the health of dentin. An anthropological study examined teeth from ancient civilizations, finding that the dentin in people who suffered from vitamin D deficiency did not form healthy new layers. Thus, vitamin D is important for both the non-living exterior and living interior of your teeth.
