{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T16:45:36Z","timestamp":1782837936327,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,22]],"date-time":"2024-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713744000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"\u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Dentistry Journal"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This systematic review critically evaluates the association between serum Vitamin D levels and dental caries incidence in the permanent teeth of children and adolescents. The search strategy comprised three databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase), up to November 2023, targeting studies on the correlation between Vitamin D and dental caries in permanent dentition. The eligibility criteria focused on observational studies involving children and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years with permanent dentition. The screening process, guided by the PRISMA guidelines and the Newcastle\u2013Ottawa Scale for quality assessment, resulted in the inclusion of eight studies conducted across various global regions from 2013 to 2023. The analysis revealed that Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency were prevalent among the study populations, ranging from 17.3% to 69.4%. Specifically, children and adolescents with Vitamin D insufficiency (&lt;50 nmol\/L) were found to have significantly higher odds of developing caries, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.13 to 2.57. Conversely, two studies indicated a protective effect of higher Vitamin D levels, with an OR of 0.80 and 0.59, respectively, for caries among children and adolescents with serum levels \u2265 50 nmol\/L, suggesting an inverse relationship between Vitamin D status and caries risk. The results indicate both the protective role of adequate serum levels of Vitamin D above 20 ng\/mL and the increased risk associated with insufficient levels below this threshold. However, the variations in study quality, methodologies and geographic settings underscore the challenges in drawing universal conclusions. Despite these limitations, our review suggests that improving Vitamin D status could be a beneficial component of preventive strategies against dental caries in children and adolescents, warranting further research to clarify the clinical significance of our findings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/dj12040117","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,22]],"date-time":"2024-04-22T03:57:07Z","timestamp":1713758227000},"page":"117","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Serum Vitamin D Levels and Caries in the Permanent Teeth of Children and Adolescents"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0653-0996","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roxana","family":"Buzatu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dental Aesthetics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Revolutiei Boulevard 9, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magda Mihaela","family":"Luca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bogdan Andrei","family":"Bumbu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410073 Oradea, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"514","DOI":"10.1186\/2047-783X-16-11-514","article-title":"The influence of micronutrients on oral and general health","volume":"16","author":"Willershausen","year":"2011","journal-title":"Eur. 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