The Impact of Diet on Oral Health: A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION This systematic literature review investigates the essential relationship between diet plans and oral wellness to examine how food decisions affect dental caries, periodontal conditions, and erosion development. It also identifies both protective nutrients, including vitamin D and calcium, and presents emerging interventions through probiotics that demonstrate the potential to advance oral health outcomes. The study highlights the importance of incorporating dietary education into dentists’ preventive care approaches for patients. OBJECTIVES The main objective of this review focuses on studying sugars and acids alongside protective nutrients affecting oral health while evaluating dietary interventions using probiotics and functional foods and their implementation strategies for dental practice counseling. METHODOLOGY The research found peer-reviewed studies, clinical trials, and reviews, which they sourced from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar between 2014 and 2023. The research process used “diet and oral health” together with “dental caries and nutrition” and “probiotics and oral microbiome” as targeted keywords. A total of 75 peer-reviewed studies were analyzed, but 15 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria by examining dietary effects on oral health. RESULTS The consumption of excessive sugar leads to a higher dental caries risk, whereas acidic diets trigger erosion. Nutrients that protect the mouth include omega-3 fatty acids, together with vitamin D and calcium, for promoting periodontal health. The oral microbiome potentially improves when patients use probiotics because they decrease both inflammation and harmful bacteria. CONCLUSION Diet is a key, modifiable driver of caries, erosion, and periodontal outcomes. Beyond summarizing prior work, this review adds a study-design–specific Joanna Briggs Institute risk-of-bias assessment for every included study and maps evidence to practice-ready recommendations with GRADE-style certainty ratings. A conceptual model and an evidence-gap map are provided to guide clinical use and future trials.