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free tools for patients, expert nutrition advice and information on updated
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Educate your patients on the importance of 3-A-Day of Dairy: Here's
a great
tool (PDF: 618k) to show families how to get their 3-A-Day of Dairy
every day for stronger bones.
Developed in conjunction with The American Academy of Family
Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dietetic
Association, and The National Medical Association.
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Dairy Council Digest Archives
A Protective Effect of Dairy Foods in Oral Health
Summary
Dental caries and periodontal disease are common, oral health diseases. Despite the recent decline in the prevalence of dental caries among some U.S. children, about half of all children 12 years of age and nearly all adults experience caries. Periodontal disease affects many older adults.
Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to dental caries and periodontal disease. For dental caries to develop, the following four interacting factors must be present simultaneously: a susceptible tooth surface; specific microorganisms, particularly mutans Streptococci, in the oral cavity; fermentable carbohydrates; and time. Periodontal disease is a multifactorial disease caused by specific microorganisms, poor dental hygiene, inadequate nutritional status, and weakened immune responses. The specific role of diet and dairy foods in particular in periodontal disease is unclear.
Risk of dental caries Risk of dental caries can be reduced by increasing host resistance (e.g., fluoride), decreasing or interfering with oral microorganisms (e.g., by fluoride, oral hygiene), and changing the oral environment (e.g., dietary interventions). Fluoride, obtained through community water supplies and other sources such as fluoridated toothpaste, is largely responsible for the decline in dental caries among some U.S. children in recent decades.
Intake of fermentable carbohydrates such as simple sugars and cooked starches can contribute to dental caries. However, the effect of fermentable carbohydrates on this disease is influenced by how often they are consumed, the amount retained in the oral cavity, including on tooth surfaces, and the length of time teeth are exposed. The duration sugar(s) remains in the mouth is critical in determining the development of caries. Sucrose and other fermentable carbohydrates consumed frequently, especially between meals, or in a retentive form (e.g., as in dried fruits) are potentially more cariogenic than fermentable carbohydrates that are rapidly cleared from the mouth, as in solutions, or consumed at a single time.
Cheeses such as aged Cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and American processed, among others, have been demonstrated to reduce the cariogenic challenge of fermentable carbohydrates such as sucrose and to protect against both smooth surface and root surface caries. Root caries is a concern for older adults.
Milk, including chocolate milk, has a low cariogenic potential. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, chocolate milk is less likely to contribute to dental caries than sucrose alone or many snack foods. How dairy foods protect against dental caries is not clearly established. However, the benefit may be explained by their ability to increase saliva production and by the presence of protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus in dairy foods.
Guidelines to protect oral health include: consume a nutritionally balanced diet containing a variety of foods; limit between meal snacks and, if you snack, choose nutritious foods such as cheese, milk, plain yogurt, fresh fruit, and raw vegetables; regularly visit a dentist, brush, and floss teeth; and obtain adequate exposure to fluoride.
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