The impact of nutrition on oral and dental health: a concise review

Oral diseases—especially dental caries and erosion—remain among the most common and preventable health problems worldwide. Diet is a major, modifiable determinant of oral health: both the quality of foods consumed and the frequency of exposure to fermentable carbohydrates significantly influence cariogenic and erosive processes. This concise review synthesizes recent evidence on how dietary patterns, specific nutrients, and eating behaviours affect oral health, and summarizes practical, evidence-based prevention strategies suitable for clinical and community settings. Key interventions include reducing the frequency of free-sugar intake, promoting topical fluoride use, encouraging protective foods (for example, dairy), and integrating brief nutritional counselling into routine dental care. The review also identifies gaps in implementation research and calls for pragmatic studies on scalable dietary interventions to reduce the burden of oral disease in diverse and resource-limited contexts.