How the Summer Sun Benefits Your Smile

After what feels like the longest year ever, summertime is finally here! The weather is getting warmer, and you even have some exciting plans for you and your family. Whether you’d like to spend the season exercising outside or just sitting by the pool, the sun’s rays are doing their job by providing a variety of benefits for your body, like giving you vitamin D. With about 1 billion people in the world suffering from a vitamin D deficiency, it is important that you aren’t lacking sunlight. Read on to learn why it is so crucial for your oral health!

How Does the Sun Affect Your Teeth?

As you spend time in the sun, your body absorbs vitamin D. This is important because this is the vitamin that helps your body regulate the amount of calcium that it has. Calcium is a mineral that’s known for keeping your teeth strong and healthy. Without vitamin D, you would be suffering from an extreme calcium deficiency, causing you to experience a number of problems for your dental health. Here are just a few of the most prominent:

• Periodontal disease
• Underdeveloped teeth
• Cavities

Calcium deficiency doesn’t just affect your smile. It is also linked to other medical problems in the body, such as:

• Depression
• Osteoporosis
• Muscle weakness
• Cancer

How Much Sunlight Do You Require?

The duration of time required for a sufficient amount of vitamin D to be absorbed depends on person to person. This is because humans have a wide spectrum of skin tones that absorb the sun’s rays at a different pace. People who have darker skin tones have more melanin, which protects them from over exposure. Because of this, people with darker complexions require anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours more than Caucasians, who only need about 10 to 30 minutes a few times a week.

The best time to go outdoors to partake in the sun’s rays is midday during the summer. This is when the UBV rays are most intense. By doing this multiple times a week, this can make a huge difference in the amount of vitamin D and calcium that your body has.

How Else Can You Get Your Vitamin D?

The best way to get vitamin D is from the sun, but you can also absorb it through certain foods. Here are a handful of them:

• Fatty fish and seafood
• Fortified cow’s milk
• Egg yolks
• Portabella mushrooms
• Dietary supplements

Vitamin D is critical for the health of your whole body, including your smile. By spending enough time outdoors in the sunlight this summer, you are taking a step to keep both your bones and teeth healthy!

About the Author

Dr. Christopher Duong is an experienced dentist who has been working in the field for over a decade. He earned his dental doctorate from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco and has completed a variety of continuing education courses focusing on numerous dental topics, including pediatric dentistry, oral surgery, endodontics, and cosmetic dentistry. For more ways to keep your smile healthy or to schedule an appointment at his office in Fort Worth, visit his website or call (817) 289-5200.