While many countries in the world are struggling with food shortages, more and more countries face a different challenge. In these countries urbanization and economic development have resulted in a change in people's dietary habits and lifestyle. This has not only led to new health threats such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes but has also negatively affected people's dental health. How does our diet influence our oral health?
The most obvious effect of our choice of diet is the prevalence of dental cavities (caries). But according to the health promotion website http://www.dentalhealthpress.com our diet's influence on our dental health goes far beyond this. Did you for example know, that your nutrition also influences your cranio-facial development and your risk of developing oral cancer and infectious diseases in the mouth? Erosions of the teeth, enamel defects and periodontal disease are other problems that are related to your choice of diet.
There is a need for the public health community to gain an understanding of the complex connection between nutrition and dental health, since this would strengthen the effort to control or even prevent oral diseases.
Awareness about the connection between nutrition and oral health includes nutritional counseling about:
- The effects of sugar consumption. Especially the frequent consumption of soft drinks, is a major risk factor for dental cavities. Soft drinks containing acid - including fruit juices - also contribute to dental erosions, which is a slow etching away of the dental enamel.
- The value of choosing natural food products rather than refined, industrialized food which often contains a high amount of sugar.
- The effect of a high consumption of alcohol as a risk factor in the development of oral cancer and precancerous conditions in the mouth.
- The benefits of breastfeeding rather than bottle-feeding in order to prevent early childhood caries.
Dental professionals make a great effort to increase awareness about the importance of a healthy diet, but this is not a task that can be accomplished by the dental health profession alone. A collaboration is needed between many different sectors in society such as schools, policy makers, the media, the food industry and many more in order for these initiatives to really make a difference.
You can read more about the connection between nutrition and oral health on http://www.dentalhealthpress.com
