Evaluation of the Relationship between Serum Vitamin D and Calcium Level and Dental Caries in 6-12-Year-Old Children

  Due to the high prevalence of dental caries and deficiency of vitamin D and conflicting results of studies, this study was conducted to assess the relationship of calcium (Ca) and vitamin D levels with dental caries in 6-12-year-old children. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 children with the age range of 6-12 years old admitted to Mofid Hospitaland need an evaluation of serum vitamin D and calcium level. The decayed, missing, and filled teeth index (DMFT) was recorded by a resident in pediatric dentistry. Vitamin D deficiency and inadequacy were defined less than 10 ng/ml and 10-30 ng/ml,25-hydroxyvitamin D, respectively. Ca deficiency was defined as serum Ca level less than 8.7 mg/dl. The overall prevalence of deficiency and insufficiency levels of serum vitamin D and deficiency levels of calcium were 68.67% and 2.6%, respectively. There were significant differences between the group with sufficient vitamin D and the group with insufficiency and deficiency of vitamin D in terms of the DMFT. However, among 6-8-year-old children, the D (P=0.009) and DMFT (P=0.03) levels were significantly lower in the group with sufficient level of vitamin D, compared to the group with insufficient and deficient levels of vitamin D. Moreover, no significant associations were observed between Ca levels and dental caries indexes. According to the obtained results, no significant associations of vitamin D and Ca levels were observed with dental caries among 6-12-year-old children.