It is common knowledge that calcium is crucial to the health of your teeth. What is unknown is the equal importance of Vitamin K2 in keeping your teeth strong and healthy. Vitamin K2 along with calcium and several other minerals protect your teeth from cavities and even reverse the damages caused to your teeth due to cavities.
What is Vitamin K2?
Vitamin K2 is one of the several fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D3. The body produces some amount of K2 through healthy bacteria found in the intestine. However, that is too little to have the desired impact on your teeth. So most of the Vitamin K2 that you require has to be gained from your regular diet or supplements.
Since research on the importance of Vitamin K2 is still underway, there is no recommended daily dietary dose as yet. However, it has been definitely proven that Vitamin K2 is essential for maintaining dental health.
How Vitamin K2 Works
Around the year 1975, scientists discovered osteocalcin, a protein that is dependent on Vitamin K2 for activation. Osteocalcin is responsible for diverting calcium from your bloodstream and instead to your teeth. Without osteocalcin, calcium may accumulate in your veins and arteries thereby clogging them and leading to cardiac disorders.
So it is actually Vitamin K2 that directs calcium to where it is actually required – your teeth and bones.
Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2 help to carry calcium to your teeth where it is deposited for mineralization, which keeps your teeth strong and healthy.
Vitamin K2 is different from Vitamin K1 as the latter cannot activate osteocalcin.
Vitamin K2 is essential for the health of your teeth for several reasons.
Vitamin K2 Helps in the Growth of Dentin
By activating osteocalcin and directing it towards your teeth, Vitamin K2 promotes the growth of dentin, which is calcified tissue lying underneath the enamel layer. Having a healthy layer of dentin protects your teeth even if the enamel layer has been scratched or damaged. Consequently, your teeth are less susceptible to dental cavities.
Vitamin K2 Increases the Longevity of your Teeth
Given the fact that Vitamin K2 promotes the growth of dentin and protects your teeth from cavities, it is obvious that this vitamin increases the longevity of your teeth. With adequate intake of Vitamin K2 through your diet or supplements, you can keep your teeth in good condition down the decades and even in old age.
