Calcium and periodontitis: clinical effect of calcium medication.

In contrast to the generally held concept that periodontal disease is caused by microorganisms, Henriksson (1968) suggested that a nutritional deficiency of calcium might be the cause. He elicited secondary hyperparathyroidism in beagles from a low calcium/high phosphorus diet and found that the osteolytic demineralization of bone that followed seemed to involve alveolar bone more than other bones. In a report on 10 persons with advanced periodontal disease, Krook et al.