Is Vitamin K2 the Answer to a Shrinking Jawbone?

As you might know, nutrition can positively affect your oral health. Your teeth, gums, and related areas can get healthier and stronger with the right foods and drinks! Given this fact, then, recent studies have found that vitamin K2 can also help your mouth. In particular, the nutrient seems to stimulate and improve jawbone density. To prove these claims, your Lynchburg dentist is here with the details. Read on to learn how vitamin K2 benefits your jaw and its pearly whites.

What’s Vitamin K2?

Vitamin K2 — one of the three types of vitamin K — is a tissue and bacterial product found in animals and fermented foods. It’s also known by the name “menaquinone.”

First discovered in the 20th century, vitamin K2 was first dubbed “activator X.” The dentist Weston Price found that it protects against chronic diseases. Later, research showed that it helps keep blood vessels’ walls clear of calcium.

What Does It Do for Oral Health?

For starters, studies suggest this vitamin could increase jawbone density. One shows that vitamin K2 improves bone strength, thus reducing the fracture risk in older women with weak bones. Another, meanwhile, links poor vitamin K intake with low bone mass and osteoporosis. Given these facts, getting more vitamin K will help your jaw and the teeth that rely on it.

Of course, vitamin K2 may also directly affect your pearly whites. Some believe it can prevent cavities and other tooth decay.

How Can You Get More of It?

According to the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, you can get enough vitamin K by eating a well-balanced diet. The foods listed below are especially rich in the nutrient:

• Dairy products, especially cheeses — blue cheese, gouda, Swiss, etc.
• Eggs
• Pork
• Chicken
• Liver
• Grass-fed beef
• Sauerkraut
• Natto (a fermented Japanese food made from soybeans)

Taking supplements is a valid alternative if you have difficulty finding such items. You can usually find them in your local pharmacy or through online retailers.

In the end, having more vitamin K2 should help your jawbone density and other aspects of your oral health. Therefore, try eating more of the foods suggested above — your smile (and the rest of your face) will thank you for it!

About the Practice

Peery & Woolwine Family Dentistry has been based in Lynchburg, VA, since 1980. As led by Drs. James Peery, Jr., James Peery III, and Samuel Woolwine, our practice strives to provide quality care in a cozy setting. To that end, we perform personalized preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry, not to mention emergency dental procedures. For more information or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (434)-847-5331.