Added sugars and their impact on dental caries: A narrative review

Abstract

Added sugar consumption has tremendously increased over the last few decades. Sugar intake is in the form of naturally occurring products drugs or foods. The sugar in these products is added during processing for the modification of flavor taste and texture. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the most common source of added sugar. Soda beverages are consumed chiefly by adolescents and young adults. The different forms of added sugar are white sugar brown sugar liquid sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Added sugars are detrimental to health if taken in high quantities. A sugar-rich diet may lead to systemic conditions such as obesity type 2 diabetes mellitus cardiovascular diseases renal diseases non-alcoholic liver disease and gout. Added sugar plays an important role in the etiology of dental caries. The frequency of intake oral sugar clearance and effective concentration are the factors affecting the cariogenicity of added sugars. A dose-response relationship exists between the frequency of added sugar intake especially sugar-sweetened beverages and dental caries. High carbonated soft drink consumption shows an association with dental caries among children and young adults. Effective dietary guidelines are essential to curtail added sugar intake. In the context of the global burden of dental caries legislative initiatives are important to address added sugar intake. Hence this review discusses the different sources and forms of added sugar intake their impact on general health their role in dental caries clinical strategies and policy measures in addressing added sugar intake.