Dental caries (also known as cavities) are common chronic non-communicable diseases worldwide.

The treatment of dental caries is very expensive, consuming 5-10% of the medical budget in industrialized countries, and is one of the leading causes of hospitalization for children in some high-income countries.

Free sugar is the most basic dietary factor in the development of dental caries, because dental caries do not occur in the absence of sugar. Bacteria in the mouth metabolize sugar to produce acid, which leads to demineralization of hard tissues (enamel and dentin), which causes dental caries.

People with more caries have higher free sugar intake.

In many countries, sugary drinks, including fruit drinks, milk drinks and 100% pure juice, are the main source of free sugar.Sweets, cakes, biscuits, sweet cereals, desserts, cane sugar, honey, syrup and candied fruit are all common sources of free sugar.

Unlike whole fresh fruit, the juice contains free sugar,also contains more calories. More importantly, oral movements that chew the entire fresh fruit can stimulate the secretion of saliva and prevent tooth demineralization.

More importantly, oral movements that chew the entire fresh fruit can stimulate the secretion of saliva and prevent tooth demineralization.

Free sugar intake is less than 10% of total energy intake, and more ideally less than 5%, which reduces the risk of dental caries in life.

Severe dental caries often cause pain and infection and may cause tooth extraction. It also affects the overall health and quality of life of individuals.

It is also a common cause of absence from school or work. In some low and middle-income countries, the association between dental caries and malnutrition in children has been reported; however, the causal relationship between dental caries and malnutrition is unclear.

Common Sense:

Monk fruit extract is derived from the pulp of the fruit and is used to sweeten foods and beverages without the calories of sugar. In addition, the extract appears to lower both blood sugar and blood lipids in experimental models of animal diabetes.The active sweet substances appear to be the mogrosides which are about 2- 300 times the as sweet as table sugar. The mogrosides also function as antioxidants, potentially limiting the oxidative damage caused by high levels of blood glucose.