Complied by Bruce Lee Pihlstron, DDS, MS LONG TERM STUDY REPORTS THAT SUGAR CONSUMPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH CARIES DESPITE USE OF FLUORIDE A recent article published in the Journal of the American Dental Association suggests fluoride has no effect on tooth decay (dental caries) while sugar increases the incidence even in small quantities. A long-term study looking at young children through to older teenagers showed that even with small amounts of sugar there was an increase in tooth decay (caries) despite the level of fluoride ingested. In other words, fluoride had no effect in reducing caries.