Effects of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals on dental caries experience in adolescent children: a three-year study.

The influence of dietary composition on dental caries experience has been well documented in experimental animals1'2 and in man.3-5 Conflicting reports exist regarding the role of cereals in the genesis of, or protection against, dental caries.6-8 It would be helpful for dietary counseling of the adolescent child if information could be generated to determine whether consumption of modern ready-to-eat breakfast cereals should be avoided, ignored, or encouraged. While conducting a clinical trial on adolescent children to determine the effect of phosphate enrichment of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals on dental caries experience, we had an opportunity to analyze whether the incorporation of ready-to-eat cereal into the breakfast regimen altered dental caries experience from that of children who consumed other foods for breakfast.