A study published in one of my favorite journals (PLOS anything, but this one was published in PLOS Medicine) delivers evidence to support taxing soda drinks.
It is no surprise to any oral health care provider that sugary drinks contribute heftily to the deplorable incidence of tooth decay in the US:
About 1 of 5 (20%) children aged 5 to 11 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth.
1 of 7 (13%) adolescents aged 12 to 19 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth.
The percentage of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years with untreated tooth decay is twice as high for those from low-income families (25%) compared with children from higher-income households (11%)
Among adults aged 20–64, 91% had dental caries and 27% had untreated tooth decay.
These statistics are pathetic considering dental decay is completely avoidable.
The effects of sugar on this epidemic have also been extensively studied by researchers and are unequivocal:Â
“ Dental caries is a disease that requires, above all, a single specific cause: free sugars. There is extensive scientific evidence that free sugars are the primary necessary factor in the development of dental caries. Acid-producing bacteria and other factors facilitate the development of dental caries, but free sugars are the necessary dietary cause of caries, with consistent evidence for a markedly sensitive log-linear dose-response increase in caries from 0.1% sugars intake to 1346 Journal of Dental Research 94(10) 2% to 3%. A 10% sugars intake was noted by the WHO (2015) as inducing high caries rates despite fluoride use in drinking water and toothpaste.”
One of the worst culprits in the American diet are sugary drinks. Their contribution to dental decay cannot be understated as their consumption by children and adults alike is considerable:
In order to limit the amount of soda Americans drink California has implemented a tax which cost any Berkeley resident who buys a 12-ounce soda each day an additional $40. Soda consumption in Berkeley is now down 9.6%. Additionally, the tax generated $1.4 $1.4 million for child nutrition and community health programs.
You can access the study, which details the first such tax in the US, by clicking HERE.
Dye BA, Xianfen L, Beltrán-Aguilar ED. Selected Oral Health Indicators in the United States 2005–2008. NCHS Data Brief, no. 96. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2012.
Dye BA, Thornton-Evans G, Li X, Iafolla TJ. Dental caries and tooth loss in adults in the United States, 2011–2012. NCHS data brief, no 197. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2015.Â
Sheiham, Aubrey, and W. P. T. James. "Diet and dental caries the pivotal role of free sugars reemphasized." Journal of Dental Research. 94.10 (2015): 1341-1347.