Dental caries

Added sugar

Higher free-sugar intake increases dental-caries risk.

strong evidence

Direction: increase

Magnitude: unknown

Human evidence reviewed

Study context

Population: Adults and children

Studied dose: Varies or not established

Duration: Varies across reviewed studies

Last reviewed: 2026-09-16

Limitations & caveats

  • Added sugar is a proxy for free sugars; exposure accumulates across foods.

Sources

Guideline: sugars intake for adults and childrenExpert or government fact sheet · World Health Organization · supportsOpen ↗

Source type and claim strength are separate. A fact sheet summarizes underlying research; its link is not an individual clinical trial.