Oral health

Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
Volume 2012, Article ID 720692, 8 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/720692
Review Article
Good Oral Health and Diet
G. A. Scardina and P.Messina
Section Oral Sciences, Department of Surgical and Oncological Disciplines, University of Palermo, Via Del Vespro 129,
90127 Palermo, Italy
Correspondence should be addressed to G. A.Scardina, scardina@odonto.unipa.it
Received 29 June 2011; Revised 16 September 2011; Accepted 21 October 2011
Academic Editor: David A. Spratt
Copyright © 2012 G. A. Scardina and P. Messina. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work isproperly cited.
An unhealthy diet has been implicated as risk factors for several chronic diseases that are known to be associated with oral diseases.
Studies investigating the relationship between oral diseases and diet are limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to describe
the relationship between healthy eating habits and oral health status. The dentistry has an important role in thediagnosis of
oral diseases correlated with diet. Consistent nutrition guidelines are essential to improve health. A poor diet was significantly
associated with increased odds of oral disease. Dietary advice for the prevention of oral diseases has to be a part of routine patient
education practices. Inconsistencies in dietary advice may be linked to inadequate training of professionals. Literaturesuggests
that the nutrition training of dentists and oral health training of dietitians and nutritionists is limited.
1. Introduction
The concept of oral health correlated to quality of life stems
from the definition of health that the WHO gave in 1946.
Health is understood to be “a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity”.The programs for the prevention of
oral diseases concern teaching about oral hygiene and healthy
eating, fluoride prophylaxis, periodic check-ups, sessions of
professional oral hygiene, and secondary prevention programs
[1]. The term “bionutrition” refers to the important
interactions which exist between diet, use of nutrients, genetics,
and development. This term emphasizes the role ofnutrients in maintaining health and preventing pathologies
at an organic, cellular, and subcellular level [2].
Este término hace hincapié en el papel de
nutrientes para mantener la salud y la prevención de patologías
a nivel orgánico, celular y subcelular

There exists a biunique relationship between diet and
oral health: a balanced diet is correlated to a state of oral
health (periodontaltissue, dental elements, quality, and quantity
of saliva).
Vice versa an incorrect nutritional intake correlates to a
state of oral disease [3–6].
2. Diet and the Development of the Oral Cavity
Diet influences the development of the oral cavity: depending
on whether there is an early or late nutritional imbalance,
the consequences are certainly different. In fact, an early
nutritionalimbalance influences malformationsmost.Moreover,
the different components of the stomatognathic apparatus
undergo periods of intense growth alternated with periods
of relative quiescence: it is clear that a nutritional imbalance
in a very active period of growth will produce greater
damage [3]. está claro que un desequilibrio nutricional
en un período muy activo de crecimiento se producen mayordaño
A shortage of vitamins and minerals in the phase before
conception influences the development of the future embryo,
influencing dental organogenesis, the growth of the maxilla,
and skull/facial development [La falta de vitaminas y minerales en la fase anterior
concepción influye en el desarrollo del embrión futuro,
influir en la organogénesis dental, el crecimiento del maxilar,
y el...