Abstract
The World Health Organization and COMA have recommended that free or non-milk extrinsic sugars intake should be below 10% of total energy intake and the COMA report on dietary sugars and human disease has strongly implicated sugars as the main causative factor in dental caries. The scientific basis for the conclusions of these important policy documents has been challenged by the sugar and confectionery industries. Dental evidence is presented to substantiate the WHO recommendation. The dose-response curve for sugar and caries is approximately sigmoid (S-shaped). At levels of sugar consumption below 10 kg/person/year the incidence of caries is acceptably low. Beyond 15 kg the incidence increases more rapidly. Fluoride increases the resistance of teeth to sugar--it moves the dose-response curve to the right. Thus, when fluoride is widely available, the acceptable level of non-milk extrinsic sugars increases to about 15 kg/person/year
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sheiham, A. Why free sugars consumption should be below 15 kg per person per year in industrialised countries: the dental evidence. Br Dent J 171, 63–65 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4807606
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4807606
This article is cited by
-
From ameloblast to iconoclast: Remembering Aubrey
British Dental Journal (2016)
-
Impact of bottle size on in-home consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages: protocol for a feasibility and acceptability study
Pilot and Feasibility Studies (2015)
-
Declining Caries Trends: Are We Satisfied?
Current Oral Health Reports (2015)
-
A reappraisal of the quantitative relationship between sugar intake and dental caries: the need for new criteria for developing goals for sugar intake
BMC Public Health (2014)
-
Evidence to support a food-based dietary guideline on sugar consumption in South Africa
BMC Public Health (2012)