Nutrition and oral infectious diseases: connections and future research

A workshop on nutrition and oral infectious diseases was held November 5-7, 2000 at the Forsyth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. The goal of the symposium was to review the current state-of-the-science with regard to nutrition and oral infectious diseases (particularly periodontitis) and then connect the disciplines of nutrition, microbiology, immunology, and clinical periodontology through a comprehensive list of recommendations for future research. The workshop featured five scientific sessions (oral infections and general health, research models, nutrition and infection, nutrition and oral infection, and nutrition, oral health, and life cycle). An agenda with the complete list of speakers together with the recommendations can be found at http://www.forsyth.org/nutrition/recommendations.htm. A brief summary of the workshop is presented in this article.