Role of Sugar and Sugar Substitutes in Dental Caries: a Review

Overview

Journal ISRN Dent

Specialty Dentistry

Date 2014 Feb 4

PMID 24490079

Citations 54

Authors

Prahlad Gupta

Nidhi Gupta

Atish Prakash Pawar

Smita Shrishail Birajdar

Amanpreet Singh Natt

Harkanwal Preet Singh

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Dental caries is a chronic disease which can affect us at any age. The term "caries" denotes both the disease process and its consequences, that is, the damage caused by the disease process. Dental caries has a multifactorial aetiology in which there is interplay of three principal factors: the host (saliva and teeth), the microflora (plaque), and the substrate (diet), and a fourth factor: time. The role of sugar (and other fermentable carbohydrates such as highly refined flour) as a risk factor in the initiation and progression of dental caries is overwhelming. Whether this initial demineralization proceeds to clinically detectable caries or whether the lesion is remineralized by plaque minerals depends on a number of factors, of which the amount and frequency of further sugars consumption are of utmost importance. This paper reviews the role of sugar and sugar substitutes in dental caries.

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