Diet and dental caries: the pivotal role of free sugars reemphasized

The importance of sugars as a cause of caries is underemphasized and not prominent in preventive strategies. this is despite overwhelming evidence of its unique role in causing a worldwide caries epidemic. why this neglect? one reason is that researchers mistakenly consider caries to be a multifactorial disease; they also concentrate mainly on mitigating factors,particularly fluoride. however,this is to misunderstand that the only cause of caries is dietary sugars. these provide a substrate for cariogenic oral bacteria to flourish and to generate enamel-demineralizing acids. modifying factors such as fluoride and dental hygiene would not be needed if we tackled the single cause-sugars. in this article,we demonstrate the sensitivity of cariogenesis to even very low sugars intakes. quantitative analyses show a log-linear dose-response relationship between the sucrose or its monosaccharide intakes and the progressive lifelong development of caries. this results in a substantial dental health burden throughout life. processed starches have cariogenic potential when accompanying sucrose,but human studies do not provide unequivocal data of their cariogenicity. the long-standing failure to identify the need for drastic national reductions in sugars intakes reflects scientific confusion partly induced by pressure from major industrial sugar interests. © international & american associations for dental research 2015.