Diet and Nutrition

Nutrition comprises all the processes involved in intake and utilization of food. Good nutrition provides nutrients to build healthy bodies, strong bones, decay resistant teeth and healthy gums. Diet is the types and amounts of food eaten daily. A balanced diet is essential for a child’s growth and development.

Nutrition affects oral health and oral health affects nutrition. The inter-relationship between nutritional health which includes quantity and quality of food intake and nutritional status promotes good oral health, which encompasses the gum tissue, teeth, jaw, salivary quantity and quality and taste and pain sensations.

One of the most common birth defects is cleft lip and /or palate, encountered in one in 900 births. A variety of nutrient deprivations or excesses and systemic disturbances can produce this congenital anomaly in animals.

Nutrition is a major factor in infection and inflammation. In oral health, caries and periodontal disease, as well as many diseases of the mucous membranes, tongue and salivary glands, are infectious. Such oral infections can not only affect the gums and teeth, but can also affect general health.

Teeth are particularly susceptible to nutritional insusceptible to nutritional insult during the critical period of development through age three. Changes in the structural integrity of the teeth provide a history of deficiencies of Vitamins A, C, and D, iodine and excess of fluorides during tooth formation. Changes in the oral mucosa signal deficiencies of iron, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, protein and vitamins B12, C and K.

See Nutritional Predictors of Changes in Oral Structural Integrity in Children

To help the public make choices for a healthy diet, the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services published Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These guidelines include: eating a variety of foods; balancing foods eaten with physical activity to maintain a healthy weight; choosing a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits and grains and low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol; and using sugars, salt and sodium in moderation.

Healthy Tips:

• Shop smart!! Do not routinely stock your pantry with sugary or starch snacks. But “fun foods” just for special times
• Limit the number of snacks; choose nutritious snacks
• Provide a balanced diet, and save foods with sugar or starch for mealtimes
• Don’t put your young child to bed with a bottle of milk, formula, or juice
• If your child chews gum or sips soda, choose those without sugar