A new study shows that consumption of regular soda pop, regular powdered beverages, and, to a lesser extent, 100 percent juice will cause cavities. No big surprise here, but the surprise was that drinking milk had no association, either positive or negative.
This is likely due to the fact that the milk was ruined by pasteurization. Raw milk would likely have a dramatic reduction on cavities. I fully believe that if one were to eliminate sugars and most grains for kids and provide them with raw milk, the need for dentists would be reduced by over 90 percent.
I just wish my mom knew about this as I wound up having well over one dozen teeth that needed to be repaired surgically. I also find it tremendously interesting that in certain cultures, like Korea and many places in Africa, tooth decay is very uncommon. If you were to ask the average adult living in these areas to open their mouth and check for cavities, you would rarely find one.
Why is this important?
I'm sure you recall the old urban legend that you can tell the health of a horse by examining its teeth. Well folks, humans aren't much different. The vast majority of the sickest patients I have seen have had terrible teeth. However, healthy teeth do not necessarily translate to perfect health. This is likely due to the large role that emotions play in health.
Pediatrics September 2003 pp. e184-e191 Free Full Text Journal Article