Dietary carbohydrates and dental disorders1’2 1218 Am J C/in Nutr l987;45: 12 18-25. Printed in USA. © 1987 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

The association between dietary carbohy-drates and oral disease has been studied in depth especially with respect to caries. This is essentially due to the following readily iden-tifiable key factors: 1) evidence ofcaries being an infectious and transmissible disease, 2) dis-tinction of sucrose in comparison with other sugars and carbohydrate sweeteners as the ideal substrate for the cariogenic microflora, 3) identification of several macromolecules and other substances collectively capable of tissue destruction and degradation as a con-sequence ofcarbohydrate breakdown through microbial metabolism, and 4) disclosure and importance of natural and other defens