Edgar W M
Int Dent J. 1985 Sep;35(3):190-4.
Because of the complex nature of the interactions between dietary constituents and the teeth in the development of dental caries it is inappropriate to try to arrive at an absolute determination of whether or not consumption of a food will always give rise to the formation of cavities. Prediction of a food's cariogenicity can be most usefully regarded as a relative assessment of the food's potential, among other foods, to give rise to caries, with other modifying factors held constant. Cariogenic potential cannot be assessed in human studies for a wide range of foods. However, the most productive experimental approaches have employed animal feeding studies, where eating patterns can be strictly controlled and human biochemical tests on pH responses to food consumption by dental plaque in vivo. Such studies have now produced data on dietary items normally consumed in western countries as snacks, sweets, soft drinks as well as mealtime items. Data on the relative cariogenic potential of foods are of value not only to the dental profession in advising patients on food selection, but also to the food industry in relation to product development and marketing and to government agencies with the responsibility for health education and marketing regulation.
由于在龋齿形成过程中，膳食成分与牙齿之间的相互作用具有复杂的性质，因此试图绝对确定食用某种食物是否总会导致龋齿形成是不合适的。对食物致龋性的预测最有用的方式可被视为在其他因素保持不变的情况下，相对于其他食物，该食物产生龋齿的潜在可能性的相对评估。对于多种食物，无法在人体研究中评估其致龋潜力。然而，最有效的实验方法是采用动物喂养研究，在这种研究中可以严格控制进食模式，并进行关于牙菌斑在体内对食物消耗的pH反应的人体生化测试。此类研究现已得出了有关西方国家通常作为零食、糖果、软饮料以及餐食食用的食物的数据。食物相对致龋潜力的数据不仅对牙科专业人员在为患者提供食物选择建议方面有价值，而且对食品行业在产品开发和营销方面以及对负责健康教育和营销监管的政府机构也有价值。
