Influence of diet and nutrition on oral health – A review

Abstract

Diet plays an important role in oral health as well as the overall health of the body. Across the world, several dietary patterns are practiced. Oral diseases including dental caries, periodontal disease, tooth loss, oral mucosal lesions, and oropharyngeal malignancies, are serious issues for public health across the world. An improper diet can lead to many problems in the oral cavity. Diet alters both the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity. A person’s psychological, social, and emotional well-being is greatly influenced by their experience with pain, missing, discolored, or damaged teeth. Dental decay eventually results in tooth loss, which affects the ability to chew and causes people to avoid hard and fibrous meals including fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. This review mainly focuses on the influence of dietary patterns on oral health status by analyzing the prevalence of dental caries, tooth wear, and periodontal status in the oral cavity. There is clear evidence of an association between dietary intake and oral diseases, intake of more fruits in the case of vegetarians has an impact on the formation of dental caries and also in tooth wear. In addition to that, nutritional deficiency also plays an important role in causing oral diseases.