Relationship of Nutrition and Dental Health

Relationship of Nutrition and Dental Health: "Relationship of Nutrition and Dental Health
The relationship of nutrition and dental health is important, especially given the fact that, we as humans only get one set of teeth! With today's modern diet, dental health faces an onslaught of processed foods that can pose a grave threat to the health and function of teeth and gums. While dental health has improved in the United States since the 1970s, cavaties remain problematic for specific populations of children and adolescents.

While reporting on the relationship of nutrition and dental health, sugar is often blamed as the primary culprit in regard to dental cavaties and gum disease. To be sure the overbundance of sweets in the American diet is a matter of serious concern, but other factors regarding nutrition play an important role in affecting dental health. For example, one often overlooked factor in tooth decay is the acidity of fruit drinks and carbonated drinks that are consumed in copious amounts. In addition to the deleterious affects of consuming too much sugar the acidic nature of these drinks stemming from the presence of carbonic and phosphorus acids can directly dissolve tooth enamel and lead to the degradation of the gums. Diet sodas are no better because they often have the same acidic ingredients as regular soda despite the lack of sugar. In fact recent clinical studies have showed that the phosphoric acid present in cola drinks approaches the level of battery acid!"