Impact of Diet on Oral Health

By Karen Sue Williams, RDH, MS

As healthcare providers, dental hygienists help improve patients’ oral and systemic health through education. Medical history review, oral examination, and a nutritional assessment enable dental hygienists to identify behaviors or components of a patient’s diet that cause or contribute to oral disease. Taking a nutritional history is an important part of the dental hygiene process of care, as it allows oral healthcare providers to assess an individual’s risk for potential nutritional deficiencies based on dietary choices.¹ Patient education should focus on the treatment and/or prevention of disease through oral hygiene practices and diet and nutritional counseling.

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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