Methods: Subjects enrolled in this study were in periodontal-disease-maintenance programs and had ≥2 interproximal sites with ≥3mm attachment loss. Twenty-three subjects (takers) took ≥400 international units(IU)/day of vitamin D and ≥1000mg/day of calcium oral supplementation, and 28 (non-takers) took no oral supplementation. For mandibular posterior teeth the following were recorded: gingival index, probing depth, clinical attachment level, bleeding upon probing, and furcation involvement. Photostimulable-phosphor, posterior, bitewing radiographs were used to determine cementoenamel-junction-alveolar-crest distances (alveolar-crest-height loss) and nutritional analyses were used to determine dietary vitamin D and calcium intakes. A repeated-measures, multivariate, analysis of variance was used to analyze baseline data. Six-month-recall data were available for 22 takers and 26 non-takers.
Results: At baseline, takers versus non-takers had intakes of 1035IU(±585IU, standard deviation) versus 168IU(±132IU) of vitamin D and 2331mg(±1120mg) versus 706mg(±453mg) of calcium, 7%(2.33mm/2.18mm) shallower probing depths, 12%(60% versus 66%) fewer bleeding sites, lower(0.7 versus 1.0) gingival-index values, 25% (47% versus 72%) fewer furcation involvements, 12%(2.01mm/1.80mm) less attachment loss, and 19%(2.04mm/1.71mm) less alveolar-crest-height loss (P = 0.08). At 6 months, takers versus non-takers had a greater decreases in probing depths (0.32mm versus 0.13mm), attachment loss (0.36mm versus 0.24mm), bleeding (12% versus 9%), gingival-index values (0.25 versus 0.21), and increased radiodensity (1% versus <0.01%).
Conclusion: Based on multiple clinical and radiometric variables, we found a trend towards better periodontal health in subjects who took calcium and vitamin D supplements relative to subjects not taking supplements. These preliminary, observational data are consistent with the notion that calcium and vitamin D supplementation may be helpful in the management of periodontal disease patients. This study was supported by USPHS grants R21 DE016918-01A2 and M01 RR00036.