The effect of sugar cane chewing on the development of dental caries

In Tanzania, the effect of sugar cane chewing on the development of caries was investigated. Two groups were selected; those who had easy access to sugar cane (sugar cane cutters) and those who did not (sisal plant workers). These groups had a similar socio-economic background, had similar levels of fluoride in drinking water, consumed similar amounts of refined sugar per day, but had a significant difference in number of pieces of sugar cane chewed per day. The caries prevalence in both groups was low compared with that in adult populations in Western countries. Sugar cane cutters had significantly higher mean DMT/S scores than sisal plant workers. Analysis of Variance revealed a weakly significant effect of sugar cane chewing on the caries scores (p = 0.02 from DMT and p = 0.05 for DMS). Results of the study suggest that sugar cane chewing in large quantities over a long period has a caries-promoting effect in populations with a low caries prevalence, and further, that sugar sales figures reported for such populations are of questionable reliability.