Effect of vitamin D level on periodontal treatment outcomes: a systematic review

The authors conducted a systematic search to collect and evaluate scientific evidence identifying a correlation between vitamin D administration and healing after periodontal surgery. A comprehensive search of 8 electronic databases--Ovid (MEDLINE), EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane Central, and Wiley--was conducted. The reference lists of all of the selected articles were also reviewed for potentially relevant studies. The initial search of the literature, containing both surgical and nonsurgical treatment approaches, yielded 660 citations, 392 of which were duplicates. All of the identified study abstracts were reviewed. Outcomes of the studies were assessed based on clinical attachment loss and periodontal probing depth. Following the abstract-reviewing process, 4 articles stood out from the rest. Full texts of the 4 articles were reviewed, and 3 articles fulfilled all of the considered criteria. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool was used for study appraisal and rating of evidence. The reviews differed by study design or population characteristics; therefore, the results of the included studies were assessed in a qualitative manner. The results of this review suggest that vitamin D deficiency at the time of periodontal treatment negatively affects treatment outcomes. However, large-scale, longitudinal clinical trials are required to confirm these initial results.