Vitamin D Screening and Supplementation—A Novel Approach to Higher Success: An Update and Review of the Current Literature

Abstract

In recognizing the critical role of vitamin D in bone metabolism and osseointegration, research aims to identify whether preoperative vitamin D deficiency serves as a risk factor for early implant failure. By analyzing patient outcomes and their serum vitamin D levels, studies seek to establish evidence-based recommendations for vitamin D assessment and management in the preoperative period, with the ultimate goal of enhancing implant success rates and patient outcomes in dental implantology. Given these insights, it is important for clinicians to incorporate the preoperative evaluation of vitamin D serum levels into their standard protocol for patients undergoing dental implant procedures. The objective of this study is to review and investigate the correlation between early dental implant failure (EDIF) and reduced serum levels of vitamin D, and to evaluate the potential benefits of preoperative screening and supplementation of vitamin D in patients undergoing dental implant surgery. A literature review was performed using a selected database—PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, and SCOPUS—to assess the effect of vitamin D3 level on EDIF and biological factors (i.e., peri-implant bone level). Studies were limited to peer-reviewed, indexed journals. Subsequently, a hypothesis was proposed that vitamin D3 supplementation would mitigate the negative effect of vitamin D3 deficiency. The potential benefit of vitamin D3 supplementation—systemic and topical—was assessed in terms of bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and peri-implant bone level. The deleterious effects of low vitamin D serum levels on osseointegration of dental implants and immune system modulation are increasingly accepted. Evidence has displayed that deficiency of this vitamin can result in impaired peri-implant bone formation. Vitamin D deficiency resulted in nearly a fourfold increase in overall EDIF incidence. Presurgical supplementation of vitamin D3 demonstrated increased levels of implant osseointegration, increased bone–implant contact, enhanced bone level maintenance, and decreased EDIF even in at-risk demographics (i.e., diabetic subjects). The findings of this study reinforce the role of vitamin D in dental implant osseointegration. Our study, particularly, emphasizes the necessity of vitamin D supplementation for individuals with sub-physiologic vitamin D serum levels (≤ 30 ng/mL) and those within specific risk categories: smokers, diabetics, obese individuals, and those with compromised immune systems. Adopting a proactive management plan, including screening and supplementation in these patients, may substantially enhance the clinical outcomes in dental implant surgery.