Happy Halloween from KDH Research & Communication!

While everyone enjoys a sweet treat from time to time, it’s important to remember the negative impacts of sugar on oral health – especially this time of year! Dental cavities, also known as caries, are the most common chronic disease worldwide.¹ Excessive sugar consumption is one of the main causes of dental cavities, as eating too much sugar feeds the bacteria on teeth that can breakdown the protective enamel.² To minimize the impact of sugar consumption, the CDC recommends limiting the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total daily calories to minimize the risk of dental cavities.³ That means no more than one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup per day!

KDHRC has developed several programs to support the improvement of oral health in the United States. In fact, our Guardians Receiving Information through Navigation (GRIN) program recently received additional funding from the National Institutes of Health. GRIN seeks to educate and empower community health workers (CHWs) in their outreach and guidance of guardians who have low oral health literacy, ensuring these guardians are better able to navigate the oral health care system and support their children’s oral health. KDHRC also published a six-part research brief series on oral medical care coordination in the United States. You can read our research briefs at the links below:

Research Brief 1: Definitions, Opportunities, and Barriers to Implementation

Research Brief 2: Literature Review Methodology and Four Pillars of Care Coordination

Research Brief 3: Pillar #1 – Awareness

Research Brief 4: Pillar #2 – Workforce Development and Operations

Research Brief 5: Pillar #3 – Information Exchange

Research Brief 6: Pillar #4 – Payment

KDHRC wishes everyone a safe, sweet, and smile-filled Halloween!

References

1. Sugars and dental caries. (2025, August 14). World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sugars-and-dental-caries
2. Feldens, C. A., Pinheiro, L. L., Cury, J. A., Mendonça, F., Groisman, M., Costa, R. A. H., Pereira, H. C., & Vieira, A. R. (2022). Added Sugar and Oral Health: A Position Paper of the Brazilian Academy of Dentistry. Frontiers in Oral Health, 3, 869112. https://doi.org/10.3389/FROH.2022.869112
3. Get the Facts: Added Sugars | Nutrition | CDC. (2024, January 5). https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/added-sugars.html