Dietary Recommendations

The previous nutritional status of the patient, the nature and duration of the infection, and dietary intake during recovery are all important aspects of nutrition that must be considered to improve the outcomes of periodontal treatment as well as other invasive dental procedures.³⁷  A nutritional assessment will help identify individuals with marginal nutritional status or poor dietary habits who will benefit from nutritional rehabilitation prior to extensive dental treatment.  The Nutrition Screening Initiative is a screening tool that can be used to assist the dental practitioner in identifying those patients at nutritional risk. (Figure 1)  If the patient is at high nutrition risk, referral to a registered dietitian is recommended.

Both the American Dental Association and the American Dental Hygienists' Association recommend following nutrition recommendations, such as the USDA Food Guide Pyramid (Figure 2) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Table 2), as basic guidelines for "educating and counseling their patients about proper nutrition and oral health."^38,39  The average American diet contains more than adequate amounts of protein and calories, however, patients should also be encouraged to include nuts and legumes to meet some of their protein needs which will also increase intakes of vitamin E, copper, and boron

The average intake of fruits and vegetables in the United States is around 2 servings per day, which is significantly below the recommendation of 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit.  Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin A, C, K, beta-carotene, and magnesium.  Table 3 provides some guidance about serving sizes for the various food groups found in the Food Guide Pyramid.

Low fat dairy products should also be encouraged as excellent sources of protein, calcium, vitamin A, and D.  Two to four servings of dairy products per day are needed to meet the new RDA.  Those who are lactose intolerant consume an average of 325 mg/day of calcium, which is only 25% of the current RDA of 1000-1300 mg/day placing these patients at risk of poor healing following implants and regeneration procedures.  Patients avoiding dairy products will need to find alternative sources of calcium such as fortified soy milk, rice milk, or orange juice to name just a few.  Supplements should be a last resort as they are often forgotten and are more expensive than using food as a nutrient source.

For anyone with marginal nutrient intakes, more than the average intakes of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid may be required to replete nutrient levels.  Short-term supplementation with a multivitamin/mineral preparation at 100% of RDA levels may be necessary to achieve optimal nutritional status.  A registered dietitian may need to be consulted for individualized nutritional advice.

Click Here To Navigate Within Article >> Abstract Introduction Nutrition in Periodontal Health Integrity of the Oral Mucosa Nutrient Effects on Collagen Healing and Maintenance Maintenance of Calcified Tissues Maintenance of the Host Immune Response Patient Populations at Nutritional Risk Dietary Recommendations References About the Authors
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Citation Number: Vol. 2, No. 2, Page 043