In the last decade, an increasing awareness was directed to the role of Vitamin D in nonskeletal and preventive roles for chronic diseases in different fields. Vitamin D deficiency was reported in many countries worldwide and is considered as a pandemic. However, no consensus exists about whether and how supplementation of Vitamin D may be beneficial as a preventive or adjuvant therapy. Thereby, this review aimed to deliver an overview about the administrated doses of Vitamin D in randomized controlled clinical studies, in order to evaluate the currently available clinical evidence. In addition, focus was placed on the recent advances on Vitamin D nonskeletal actions. The results sometimes showed a great discrepancy between the recommended Vitamin D dose by different guideline authorities, which are from 400 to 4000 IU/day, and the used doses in recent randomized controlled clinical studies, which were up to 100,000 IU/day. Different studies showed the positive effect of Vitamin D in supporting the immune system and preventing different chronic and infectious diseases. These findings reflect the need to rethink existing reference ranges and intake recommendations. Based on the analyzed range of clinically applied doses, we recommend a Vitamin D supplementation based on three different ranges, which include <40 ng/ml, >40 <80 ng/ml, and >80 ng/ml with oral Vitamin D intake of 10,000 IU/day, 5000 IU/day, and 1000 IU/day, respectively. A 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood serum monitoring is furthermore recommenced every 3 months to re-adjust the Vitamin D dose based on the above-mentioned concept. Ongoing clinical studies will have to further prove this concept for different patient groups.

Background: The use of Vitamin D₃, as an alternative drug, combined with common therapeutic strategies to treat nonmelanoma skin cancers, has recently attracted attention. However, in vitro data on Vitamin D₃action on different tumor cell lines compared to healthy cells are lacking. Aims and Objectives: In this context, the present study aimed to investigate the potential role of Vitamin D₃'s ability as an antitumor treatment. Materials and Methods: Cell growth, cell viability, and apoptosis as well as cell cycle distribution were comparatively assessed in a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell line, a basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cell line, and healthy primary normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) in response to various Vitamin D₃concentrations. Results: Tumor and healthy cells clearly responded differently to Vitamin D₃application with regard to metabolic activity and apoptosis. The application of Vitamin D₃reduced the metabolic activity of the BCC and SCC cancer cell lines (and not NHEK) and induced cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, Vitamin D₃-mediated increased apoptosis was observed in tumor cells but not in healthy primary keratinocytes. Conclusions: Our findings indicate an antiproliferative and proapoptotic Vitamin D₃-dependent effect on skin cancer cells in vitro, highlighting Vitamin D₃as a potential and beneficial alternative drug for further studies with respect to possible clinical strategies to treat nonmelanoma skin cancers.

After a dental extraction procedure, the extracted teeth are discarded disregarding their properties as an excellent graft material. The use of extracted teeth as a graft material was first performed by Dr. Marshall Urist in 1967, where he discovered and verified that the decalcified dentin matrix can induce bone formation, but his decalcification method took at least 5 days to accomplish before being able to use it as a graft material. Currently, an ultrasonic technology with temperature and vacuum control, named VacuaSonic^® System reduces the decalcification time dramatically (≤80 min) converting the tooth into graft material at chairside immediately after the dental extraction with the result being an autogenous tooth graft material (ATG). The aim of this article is to introduce two clinical cases: one case of alveolar ridge augmentation, and the other, socket preservation using ATG mixed with liquid-phase concentrated growth factors (LP-CGF) prepared at chairside on the same day of the dental extraction procedure. LP-CGF is obtained from the same patient, which was collected in blood collection tubes and processed by a special centrifuge device. The result obtained by mixing ATG with LP-CGF is a graft matrix named “Gummy Tooth Graft.”

Purpose: The aim of the study is to histologically evaluate new bone formation in extraction sockets augmented with autologous demineralized dentin bone (ADDB). Materials and Methods: Teeth were extracted from 19 patients and prepared as ADDB and then grafted in 27 extraction socket sites. The graft was covered with membrane made of concentrated growth factors (membrane) and the wounds were closed without periosteal releasing incision (open-membrane technique). Bone biopsy was performed at each implant site after 4 months of healing. Results: Wound healing was uneventful. Histologically, bone reformation was observed in all the augmented sockets, and ADDB showed favorable integration with newly formed bone. Conclusion: Immediate graft after extraction using ADDB is recommended for socket preservation.