Today is World Oral Health Day 2026 and we are reminded that “A Happy Mouth is a Happy Life.” Most of our oral health diseases and conditions are entirely preventable and supporting good general health will support good oral health too. While we often focus on the importance of self-care such as toothbrushing and dental hygiene and dental services, it is crucial to remember that dental diseases share the same risk factors as other non-communicable disease such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. These risk factors include tobacco use and excess sugar and alcohol consumption. Reducing or stopping these reduces dramatically your risk of dental decay as well as many other health conditions.
Today the WHO now recommends that we reduce the amount of sugar to minimal levels in the first three years of life and less than 10% of our total daily dietary intake across our life course. In Ireland, while the sugar beverage tax has impacted on the amount of sugary drinks we purchase, we know that across the population, we consume too much sugar in our diet. We now know from recent oral health research that the total amount of sugar taken every day is an important determinant of the risk for dental decay throughout your life and across the whole population.
Why not challenge yourself to minimise your intake of sugar starting today on World Oral Health Day and improve your oral health and overall wellbeing? Check the nutritional labels on all food items to become aware of sugar in everyday foods as well as in cakes, sweets, biscuits, and snacks. Often ‘low fat’ foods contain high level of sugars. Be sugar aware.