Menzel LP, et al. - Researchers analyzed the data to examine the significance of vitamin D in innate defense against the development of periodontal disease (PD). They noticed an association of lack of vitamin D with alveolar bone loss and enhanced inflammation in the gingiva. They noted inhibition of intracellular growth of P. gingivalis with human gingival epithelial cells (GECs) with 1,25(OH)₂D₃ therapy. They confirmed the hypothesis that vitamin D could be implemented directly to the gingiva for periodontal disease prevention/treatment as GEC was able to convert inactive vitamin D to the active form in situ.