Cereal availability and dental caries.

The present study examines the relation between three cereals: wheat, rice, and maize, to dental caries in 12-year-old children in 47 nations of the world. DMFT data were obtained from the World Health Organization's Oral Epidemiology Bank; data on cereal supplies were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome). The relation between these functions was examined by the methods of correlational and rank order analysis. The data show that: 1) the relation of each of the cereals to caries is different; 2) the consumption of wheat is positively correlated to the DMFT values obtained for the 47 nations: 3) maize consumption is negatively associated with caries; and 4) the consumption of rice shows no correlation. In keeping with these observations, nations in the upper quintile of caries prevalence consumed more wheat and less maize than those in the lower quintile. Although these findings do not ipso-facto demonstrate any cause and effect relationships between cereal availability and caries, they do suggest that starch in the form of wheat may contribute to the prevalence of dental caries in nations throughout the world.