Dentists debate whether scurvy can cause tooth loss. These nutritional deficiencies are usually reversible if balanced nutrition is quickly restored. It is well known that preponderate sugar or starch diets promote cavities when food is not promptly removed from tooth surfaces. Soft candies, like toffee and caramel, are less cariogenic because they are rinsed from teeth by saliva. Interestingly, bananas, corn chips, and rice are actually some of the stickiest foods.
Tooth decay is rampant in many Asian countries.
This is attributed to lack of basic oral hygiene and not to an insufficient diet per se. Rice and sugarcane are staple crops in China and the Philippines, respectively. One study noted that 98 percent of Filipino children have rotten teeth or suffer from tooth decay. This dental disease is one of the five leading causes of morbidity in the country. Your son should have a thorough dental exam after his first tooth erupts.