The ADA News reports a study published in the February issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association found that “greater compliance with dietary guidelines may reduce the chance of untreated caries in adults.” The study examined “the associations between untreated coronal caries, decayed, missing and filled teeth, and Healthy Eating Index scores of 7,751 adults age 20 and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles 2011-12 and 2013-14.” The researchers found that “participants who ate the recommended amounts of fruits, greens, beans and added sugars…were less likely to have untreated coronal caries than those who did not.” In addition, “overall, decayed, missing and filled teeth also decreased as Healthy Eating Index scores increased, but those trends were not consistent among all racial and ethnic groups.” The authors said, “Our findings indicate that advising people to simply follow well-established dietary guidelines for all food groups in an overall balanced diet may be effective in reducing caries.”
