This weekend, whereas everybody’s targeted on Halloween sweet, I’m interested by one thing utterly totally different: the solar.
October thirty first marks the purpose within the 12 months when a lot of North America, Europe, and the Northern Hemisphere loses the angle of daylight wanted to provide enough Vitamin D.
And after 40+ years in observe, that is the seasonal shift I pay closest consideration to.
Wanting again by years of affected person data, I seen one thing: sufferers who got here in throughout late winter and early spring constantly had worse periodontal well being than they did within the fall. Extra bleeding. Larger pocket depths. Extra irritation.
The analysis backs this up: A 2023 meta-analysis discovered that individuals with periodontitis have considerably decrease vitamin D ranges than wholesome people.
Ladies with vitamin D beneath 10 ng/mL had a 5.6-fold elevated danger of periodontitis.
However right here’s the place it will get attention-grabbing—and the place most dentists nonetheless miss the connection.
The Calcium Paradox
I got here throughout analysis that flipped my understanding of calcium utterly the wrong way up:
Vitamin D3 masses calcium into your bloodstream. However with out Vitamin K2, that calcium has no GPS. It wanders aimlessly and deposits in your arteries, kidneys, or joints—wherever besides your bones and enamel.
K2 prompts proteins like osteocalcin that direct calcium into bones and enamel whereas stopping arterial calcification.
You’ll be able to take all of the calcium and vitamin D you need, however with out K2, you’re doubtlessly making issues worse.
A 52-year-old girl got here to see me one winter. Meticulous about oral hygiene her complete life. By no means had a cavity. Then over a number of months—three cavities. Receding gums. Terrified.
Her bloodwork: Vitamin D at 18 ng/mL. Taking calcium dietary supplements however no K2.
We modified her protocol. Inside a number of months, her gum irritation improved dramatically. Her enamel stopped being delicate. Her X-rays confirmed her bone loss had stabilized.
Standard dentistry treats signs with toothbrushes once we ought to actually be addressing systemic deficiencies.
“When it comes to prevention of dental caries, optimum vitamin with fats soluble nutritional vitamins like K2 performs a much more important position than the standard dental advice to easily eat much less sugar to reduce oral bacterial acids.”
—Dr. Ken Southward (supply)
This Isn’t Simply About Your Tooth
The mix of vitamin D deficiency and periodontitis will increase the danger of kind 2 diabetes greater than both issue alone.
Your bleeding gums are a warning signal. The identical inflammatory processes destroying bone round your enamel are linked to heart problems, diabetes, and different systemic situations.
What I Do Beginning in Fall
That is my private winter protocol:
Take them along with a meal containing wholesome fat.
However begin with testing. You need vitamin D ranges between 50-70 ng/mL. Analysis reveals vitamin D supplementation as an adjunct to periodontal remedy considerably improves scientific outcomes—however you could know your baseline.
When you’re working with a practical dentist who understands these connections, they may also help optimize your protocol. Discover one in my Purposeful Dentist Listing or by AADSM.org.
Tomorrow evening, children will come to your door holding baggage filled with sweet.
However the actual Halloween trick isn’t the sugar.
It’s that beginning tomorrow (assuming you’re within the Northern Hempisphere) you’re shedding the very factor your enamel, bones, coronary heart, and mind want most—and most of the people do not know.
Whereas everybody’s worrying about cavities from sweet, I need you interested by what occurs over the following 4 months as your vitamin D ranges progressively drop.
Get examined. Complement well. And in case you’re already taking vitamin D with out K2, you’re doubtlessly making a deficiency that makes issues worse.
Taking high-dose vitamin D with out K2 can create a practical K2 deficiency. These vitamins work as a crew—don’t complement one with out the opposite. That is the one I take as a result of it’s two-in-one, and rigorously examined for purity.
That is preventive medication that really works—as a result of it addresses the foundation trigger, not the signs.
To your well being,
Mark
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Sources & Additional Studying
Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Recognized Vitamin Might Save Your Life
What’s the hyperlink between vitamin D, gum well being, and diabetes?
Vitamin D and Periodontitis: A Systematic Assessment and Meta-Evaluation
A hypothetical position for vitamin K2 within the endocrine and exocrine features of dental caries