3 WAYS A VITAMIN-RICH DIET CAN HELP TEETH AND GUMS

Vitamins are an important element in everyone's diet, but not everyone spends enough time thinking about what vitamins can do for them and filling their diet with vitamin-rich foods like leafy greens, colorful fruits and vegetables, and wild-caught fish.

Here are three ways a diet with plenty of vitamins in it can help your teeth and gums.

One specific vitamin, known as K2, is critical for getting calcium to the surface of your teeth. Your teeth send out certain proteins when they need
more calcium, and vitamin K2 activates those proteins, helping them carry calcium back to the enamel. But it's not the only vitamin needed for
calcium absorption. Other vitamins needed for good calcium assimilation include:

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E

Vitamins such as vitamin D, A, and C can also help build enamel by improving mineral density and helping your body process and absorb other
minerals such as phosphorus, which is another crucial building block of teeth. And vitamin A can help keep mucous membranes and saliva
production healthy, preventing a breakdown in mineral delivery to your teeth (via saliva).

Gum disease occurs when bacteria, plaque, and tartar multiply along your gumline and your body fights back with inflammation. Unfortunately, this often turns into chronic inflammation, which can cause more problems than it solves.

For example, chronic inflammation backfires by creating pockets where the bacteria can continue to thrive. And the more inflamed and painful your gums are, the less likely you are to clean around the gumline thoroughly. Good oral hygiene that disrupts bacterial growth along the gumline can help prevent gum disease, and vitamins can play a role as well.

Several vitamins, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E may provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Anti-inflammatory properties can help get the chronic inflammation under control while you and your dentist work together to eliminate the bacterial proliferation.

Antioxidant properties are useful because they can promote healing and help your gums repair themselves and can contribute to anti- inflammatory processes, all of which may help reduce the chances of developing gingivitis or enhance the effectiveness of any professional treatments you undergo once you already have gum disease.

You've probably heard that a vitamin C deficiency can result in a condition called scurvy, which can cause gums to deteriorate and loosen. Fortunately, you're unlikely to fall that far behind on your vitamin C intake on a modern diet. But did you know that, conversely, eating extra vitamin C-filled foods (such as colorful vegetables and fruits) can benefit your gums?

That's because, in addition to working in synergy with calcium and providing antioxidant activity, vitamin C can actually help to build connective tissues needed to keep the gums healthy. Vitamin C is an important ingredient when your body is building collagen, which it then uses to maintain and repair gum tissue, periodontal ligaments, and mucous membranes.

As you can see, getting plenty of vitamins in your diet can help your mouth stay healthy or even allow more effective healing when combined with professional gum disease treatments. If you have a deficiency in a particular vitamin (such as a genetic vitamin D deficiency), talk to your doctor about the possibility of adding a vitamin supplement as well.

The beneficial impact of vitamins can be a great complement to ongoing home oral hygiene and professional cleanings. If you live in the Naples, Bonita Springs, or Estero area of Florida and don't already have a gum specialist, get in touch with the office of Bradley Piotrowski, DDS, MSD, LLC, today to discuss becoming a new patient and set up an appointment.