The Connection Between Diet and Tooth Decay

What would happen if a group of five year old children with cavity-prone teeth were given a grain-free diet over a period of six months. Would their dental health improve?

 

If such a study showed diminished tooth decay, do you think the world would take note?

Here are the conclusions of a study titled The Influence of a Cereal-Free-Diet Rich in Vitamin D and Calcium on Dental Caries in Children:

1. A group of children average 5 ½ years of age were given a cereal-free diet rich in vitamin D and calcium for a period of six months. The teeth of the children were defective in structure (hypoplastic), and dental caries were present at the beginning of the investigation.
2. Initiation and spread of caries were almost eliminated by these diets, and the results were better than those of the previous investigation in which the vitamin D alone was increased in a diet containing bread and other cereals.

Wondering when and where this study was published?

March 19, 1932 in the British Medical Journal. Read the complete study here. 

Below is one of the tables included in the study. (Find a clearer representation further down.)

This rather obscure study was conducted through the Pharmacology Department at the University of Sheffield along with King Edward VII Hospital in Sheffield. The purpose of the study was to build on previous research showing that vitamin D helped arrest the decay process, but was often neutralized by the presence of “cereals, especially oatmeal” in the diet.

The children were in a controlled setting where diet could be supervised. A sample menu included:

Breakfast – Omelette, cocoa, with milk
Lunch – Milk
Dinner – Potatoes, steamed, minced meat, carrots, stewed fruit, milk
Tea – Fresh fruit salad, cocoa made with milk
Supper – Fish and potatoes fried in dripping, milk.

Do you find yourself wondering about the milk? I do! Since this is the early 1930s in Great Britain, I’m guessing the milk was straight from the farm.

Children who were grain-free showed signs of healing. Those that included oatmeal and bread showed signs of further decay.

 This study gives hope for a natural healing process when it comes to tooth decay. (See my friend’s story of healing her daughter’s multiple cavities here.) 

What do you think of this study? Do you think diet plays a role when it comes to dental health?