Dietary advice in dental practice

Dental markers of poverty: Biocultural deliberations on oral health of the poor in mid‐nineteenth‐century Ireland

“…In relative terms, potatoes are a low cariogenic food group generally considered not harmful to teeth (Bibby, 1961; Moynihan, 2002), even though a large proportion of the tuber comprises carbohydrates. Potato carbohydrates can be classified into three components: starch, which constitutes approximately 60%–80% of the potato in dry weight (DW); nonstarch polysaccharides that form only about 6% of DW; and sugars (sucrose, fructose, and glucose), which are only present in very small amounts (~ ≤3.0% of DW) depending on the variety of potato and storage conditions (Duarte‐Delgado et al, 2016; Schwimmer, Bevenue, Weston, & Potter, 1954; Woolfe, 1987, pp.…”

“…Even after considering all of these factors and acknowledging that potatoes do have cariogenic potential; however, it is important to appreciate that they are still among the food groups that have the least impact on dental caries rates. Indeed, they have been advocated within dietary advice given to patients wishing to avoid tooth decay (Moynihan, 2002). …”

“…As the diet appears highly constant it may be hypothesized that the oral health of much of the working‐class Irish populace at the time would have been rather uniform. Current clinical knowledge would tend to suggest that the oral health of these people would have been generally good, as both the potato and milk are considered among the least cariogenic food products (Bowen & Lawrence, 2005; Moynihan, 2002; Moynihan & Petersen, 2007). …”

The erosive potential of candy sprays

“…Repeated use of candy sprays may also exacerbate the erosive potential, as the longer the teeth are bathed in acid the longer the period of time when erosion can occur and the shorter the time period for remineralisation to take place. 19,20 Differences seem to exist in susceptibility of deciduous and permanent dentition to erosion by low pH drinks and solid acidic candy. In general, erosion of enamel was greater in the deciduous tissue, especially with increased frequency of consumption.…”

“…7,9,12,13,[15][16][17] Many soft drinks contain phosphoric, citric and other acids as ingredients, and their pH is often less than 4.0. [18][19][20] Solid acidic candies also contain organic acids like citric acid, lactic and/or malic Objective To determine the erosive potential of seven different commercially available candy sprays in vitro and in vivo. Material and methods The erosive potential was determined in vitro by measuring the pH and neutralisable acidity.…”