Welcome to PracticeUpdate! We hope you are enjoying access to a selection of our top-read and most recent articles. Please register today for a free account and gain full access to all of our expert-selected content.
Already Have An Account? Log in Now
Association of the Amount and Type of Starch Intake With Dental Caries Among Adults
TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
- This study found no association between the amount and type of starch intake and changes in dental caries status among Finnish adults over an 11-year period. Pasta intake was associated with dental caries at baseline only, with no changes in caries rates noted longitudinally. Foods high in slowly digestible or resistant starches (wholegrains and legumes) were not associated with changes in the rates of dental caries.
- Even if there are no benefits to the dental status from consuming slowly digestible or resistant starches, dentists should promote the consumption of wholegrains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes as main carbohydrate sources owing to their known benefits on general health.
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract nowOBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association between starch intake (amount and type) and changes in dental caries among adults over 11 years.
METHODS
Data from 1679 adults, aged 30 years and over, who participated in three consecutive surveys in Finland were pooled for analysis. Participants completed a validated semi-structured 128-item food frequency questionnaire at baseline, from which total starch intake (g/day and % energy intake) and the intake (g/day) of seven food groups high in starch (potatoes, potato products, roots and tubers, refined grains, pasta, wholegrains, and legumes) were estimated. Dental caries was determined during clinical examinations and summarized using the DMFT score, which was treated as a repeated outcome. The association between baseline starch intake and 11-year-change in DMFT score was tested in linear mixed-effects models adjusted for sociodemographic factors, behaviors, sugar intake, and health status.
RESULTS
The mean DMFT score was 21.9 (95%CI: 21.6, 22.2) in 2000 (baseline), increasing by 0.47 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.56) in 2004/05, and additionally by 0.33 (95%CI: 0.20, 0.45) in 2011. Total starch intake was not associated with change in DMFT. This finding was similar irrespective of how starch intake was expressed (g/day or %EI). Of the seven food groups evaluated, only the intake of pasta was inversely associated with the DMFT score at baseline, but not with the change in DMFT over time.
CONCLUSION
Neither the amount nor the type of starch intake was associated with changes in dental caries over 11 years among Finnish adults.
Additional Info
Starch intake and changes in dental caries among adults: A longitudinal study in Finland
J Public Health Dent 2024 Nov 16;[EPub Ahead of Print], FH Jangda, AL Suominen, A Lundqvist, S Männistö, A Golkari, E BernabéFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.