Resources
BOOKS
Shannon, Joyce Brennfleck ed.Diet and Nutrition Source-
book. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2006.
Weil, Andrew.Eight Weeks to Optimum Health. New York:
Knopf, 2006.
Weil, Andrew.Health and Healing: The Philosophy of Inte-
grative Medicine. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Willis, Alicia P. ed.Diet Therapy Research Trends. New
York: Nova Science, 2007.
ORGANIZATIONS
American Dietetic Association. 120 South Riverside Plaza,
Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995. Telephone:
(800) 877-1600. Website:<http://www.eatright.org>
OTHER
DrWeil.com. 2007.<http://www.drweil.com>accessed
April 17, 2007).Tish Davidson, M.A.Oral health and nutrition
Definition
Oral tissues, such as the gingiva (gums), teeth, and
muscles of mastication (chewing muscles), are living
tissues, and they have the same nutritional require-
ments as any other living tissue in the body.Description
When adequate, nutritious food is not available,
oral health may be compromised by nutrient-deficiency
diseases, such as scurvy. In contrast, when food is freely
available, as in many industrialized societies, oral
health may be compromised by both the continual
exposure of the oral environment to food and the
presence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. The
diet not only affects the number and kinds of carious
lesions (cavities), but also is an important factor in the
development of periodontal disease (gum disease).
According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s report,
Healthy People 2010, dental caries have significantly
declined in the United States since the early 1970s.
However, it remains an important concern, especially
in specific subgroups in the U.S. population. For
example, 80% of dental caries in children’s permanent
teeth are concentrated in 25% of the child and adoles-
cent population, particularly in individuals from low
socioeconomic backgrounds.Factors Affecting Nutrition and Oral Health
Sugar, particularly the frequent ingestion of
sweets (cakes, cookies, candy), is related to both dental
caries and periodontal disease. For example,popula-
tions with a frequent exposure to sugar, such as agri-
cultural workers in sugar-cane fields (who may chew
on sugar cane while they work), have a greater number
of decayed, missing, and restored teeth. Sugar
(sucrose), has a unique relationship to oral health.
Sucrose can supply both the substrate (building
blocks) and the energy required for the creation of
dental plaque (the mesh-like scaffold of molecules
that harbor bacteria on tooth surfaces). Sucrose also
releases glucose during digestion, and oral bacteria
can metabolize the glucose to produce organic acids.
However, oral bacteria can also produce organic acids
from foods other than sugar.
Oral health may be related to many nutritional
factors other than sugar,including the number of times
a day a person eats or drinks, the frequent ingestion of
drinks with low acidity (such as fruit juices and both
regular and diet soft drinks), whether a person is
exposed tofluoride(through fluoridatedwater, fluo-
ridated toothpaste, or fluoride supplements), and
whether an eating disorder is present. Not only can
the diet affect oral health, but also oral health can
affect eating patterns. This is particularly true in indi-
viduals with very poor oral health, who may not be
able to chew without pain or discomfort. Older,eden-
tulous(having no teeth) patients who have had a
stroke with the accompanying chewing and swallow-
ing problems may be at significant nutritional risk,
particularly if they are living alone and on a limited
income. Finally, malnutrition (both undernutrition
and overnutrition) have specific effects on oral health.Undernutrition and Oral Health
Although oral diseases associated with vitamin
deficiencies are rare in the United States and other
industrialized countries, they may be common in
emerging ‘‘third-world’’ nations. In these countries,
the limited supply of nutrient-dense foods or the lack
of specific nutrients in the diet (vitamin C,niacin, etc.)
may produce characteristic oral manifestations. In
addition, unusual food practices, such as chewing
sugar cane throughout the day or other regional or
cultural nutritional practices, may decrease the oral
health of specific populations.
Vitamin-deficiency diseases may produce charac-
teristic signs and symptoms in the oral cavity (mouth).
For example, in a typical B-vitamin deficiency, a per-
son may complain that the tongue is red and swollenOral health and nutrition