Relationship between intake of vegetables, fruit, and grains and the prevalence of tooth loss in Japanese women.

Epidemiological evidence regarding dental status and its relationship to diet and nutritional status has been limited. The present cross-sectional study examined the relationship between intake of vegetables, fruit, grains, antioxidants, and fiber and the prevalence of tooth loss. Study subjects were 1,002 pregnant Japanese women. Tooth loss was defined as the previous extraction of 1 or more teeth. Adjustment was made for age, gestation, parity, cigarette smoking, passive smoking at home and at work, family income, education, changes in diet in the previous 1 mo, season when data were collected, and body mass index. Of the 1,002 subjects, 256 women had lost 1 or more teeth. Compared with intake of vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables in the lowest quartile, consumption of the other vegetables in the highest quartile was independently associated with a decreased prevalence of tooth loss, showing a clear inverse dose-response relationship. There was a marginally significant inverse dose-response relationship between the intake of insoluble fiber and tooth loss. No association was observed between intake of green and yellow vegetables, soluble fiber, or antioxidant nutrients and tooth loss. These findings suggested that consumption of vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables and insoluble fiber may be related to a decreased prevalence of tooth loss among young Japanese women.