Sugar and Dental Caries: Guidelines for Sugar Consumption Suggested by the World Health Organization

Dalila S Marques, Stella MF Lima* and Tatiana DPL Azevedo

Received: February 17, 2020;   Published: March 02, 2020

DOI: 10.32474/IPDOAJ.2020.04.000176

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Abstract

Dental caries is a dynamic multifactorial disease, determined by sugar consumption and mediated by biofilm formation and activity that results in an imbalance between the processes of demineralization and remineralization of enamel. Untreated dental caries is the most prevalent oral diseases in the world and its treatment is one of the most expensive treatment. For these reasons, caries prevention must be mainly related to the control of sugar intake. Since 2002, some publications of WHO recommend the consumption of free sugars should be below 10% of the daily energy consumption. In 2015, they published a new guide for adults and children, with a strong recommendation that the consumption of these sugars should be reduced in all life cycles. In 2019, WHO published the “WHO Implementation Manual: Ending childhood dental caries”, part of the “Oral Health Program, Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases”. This review aims to discuss the current guideline recommended by the World Health Organization for the consumption of sugar as an improvement approach for the prevention of dental caries.

Abbreviations: WHO: World Health Organization; GRADE: Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation; ECC: Early Childhood Caries

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