Impact of serum vitamin D levels on periodontal healing outcomes: A preliminary cohort study

Objective To evaluated the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and periodontal healing outcomes in patients with mild or moderate periodontitis. Methods Serum vitamin D levels and periodontal pockets and gingival bleeding were evaluated in 51 patients before and 6 months after non-surgical periodontal treatment. A t-test and chi-square test were used to analyse the data (p <= 0.05). Results The mean reduction of periodontal pocket depth was statistically significant higher in patients with vitamin D >= 30 ng/ml than those with <30 ng/ml (CI = -0.23-0.42, p = 0.05), but not clinically significant. Vitamin D level was not associated with the percentage of sites of gingival bleeding on probing at the final evaluation (OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.17-1.99, p = 0.39). Conclusion Lower serum vitamin D level was associated with a slightly reduced periodontal healing after non-surgical periodontal therapy, which should be further investigated in a larger population.