Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, oral health policy framing, and dental caries data availability: a global policy and evidence mapping study
5 affiliations
- 1Clinic for Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade , ,
- 2Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari , ,
- 3Department of Restorative, Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bern , ,
- 4Department of Cariology, Institute of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg , ,
- 5Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca , ,
Abstract
Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation (SSBT) is an upstream public health measure intended to reduce sugar intake and prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases. Although sugar consumption is strongly associated with dental caries, it remains unclear how often oral health is documented within SSBT policy frameworks and whether jurisdictions have sufficient epidemiological data to evaluate oral-health outcomes. This study assessed the availability of dental caries data among 12-year-olds in jurisdictions with SSBTs and examined whether oral health and/or dental caries were documented in policy rationales.
Methods: This global evidence and policy mapping study identified sovereign states, territories, and jurisdictions with independently implemented SSBT-related fiscal policies. The availability of Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) data among 12-year-olds before and after SSBT implementation was assessed. SSBT laws and related implementation documents were reviewed for explicit or secondary references to oral health and dental caries. Jurisdictions were classified by World Health Organization region and income category, and per capita Gross National Income (pGNI) was used to assess economic status. Associations were analysed using Fisher's exact and Kruskal–Wallis tests.
Results: SSBTs were identified in 129 countries, territories, or jurisdictions, of which 117 met the inclusion criteria. None of the reviewed SSBT legal texts explicitly mentioned oral health or dental caries as a legal objective. In related implementation documents, 22 jurisdictions (18.80%) included oral health or dental caries as explicit objectives and five (4.27%) as secondary benefits. Only 38 jurisdictions (32.48%) had DMFT data available both before and after SSBT implementation. The absence of documented oral-health references was significantly associated with lower median pGNI (p < 0.01), although this finding should be interpreted cautiously because of missing pGNI values and the small secondary-reference group. Explicit oral-health objectives were more frequent in jurisdictions within the WHO Western Pacific Region (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Oral-health references are absent from SSBT legal texts and inconsistently represented in related policy documents, although this does not demonstrate that oral health was absent from policy deliberations. Moreover, only a minority of jurisdictions have DMFT data available both before and after SSBT implementation, limiting the capacity to evaluate the oral-health outcomes of taxation policies.
Related
- Sugar-sweetened beverage regulations and nutrient profiling models in five South Asian countries: a scoping review of available evidence and policy gaps
- Food-Related Online Media Viewing (Mukbang and Cookbang) and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage and Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among Korean Adolescents: Using the 2025 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey
- What happens when sugar-sweetened beverage labelling and tax policies are extended to non-sugar sweetened beverages? A national study of Australians’ responses
- Association Between Sugar‐Sweetened Beverage Consumption and All‐Cause Mortality in Individuals With and Without Metabolic Syndrome: A Prospective Cohort Study
- Free Sugars and Source-Resolved Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in Geographically Diverse Young Adults at an English University (2015–2016): Associations with Adiposity and Body Composition
BibTeX
@article{vukovic2026sugarsweetened,
title = {{Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, oral health policy framing, and dental caries data availability: a global policy and evidence mapping study}},
author = {A. Vukovic and A. Arghittu and D. Lamloum and M. Dettori and C. Bertilsson and K. Gambetta-Tessini and P. Castiglia and P. Lingström and R. A. Giacaman and G. Campus},
journal = {Frontiers in oral health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/froh.2026.1940529},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13728781},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, oral health policy framing, and dental caries data availability: a global policy and evidence mapping study
AU - A. Vukovic
AU - A. Arghittu
AU - D. Lamloum
AU - M. Dettori
AU - C. Bertilsson
AU - K. Gambetta-Tessini
AU - P. Castiglia
AU - P. Lingström
AU - R. A. Giacaman
AU - G. Campus
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Frontiers in oral health
DO - 10.3389/froh.2026.1940529
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13728781
AB - Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation (SSBT) is an upstream public health measure intended to reduce sugar intake and prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases. Although sugar consumption is strongly associated with dental caries, it remains unclear how often oral health is documented within SSBT policy frameworks and whether jurisdictions have sufficient epidemiological data to evaluate oral-health outcomes. This study assessed the availability of dental caries data among 12-year-olds in jurisdictions with SSBTs and examined whether oral health and/or dental caries were documented in policy rationales. Methods: This global evidence and policy mapping study identified sovereign states, territories, and jurisdictions with independently implemented SSBT-related fiscal policies. The availability of Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) data among 12-year-olds before and after SSBT implementation was assessed. SSBT laws and related implementation documents were reviewed for explicit or secondary references to oral health and dental caries. Jurisdictions were classified by World Health Organization region and income category, and per capita Gross National Income (pGNI) was used to assess economic status. Associations were analysed using Fisher's exact and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Results: SSBTs were identified in 129 countries, territories, or jurisdictions, of which 117 met the inclusion criteria. None of the reviewed SSBT legal texts explicitly mentioned oral health or dental caries as a legal objective. In related implementation documents, 22 jurisdictions (18.80%) included oral health or dental caries as explicit objectives and five (4.27%) as secondary benefits. Only 38 jurisdictions (32.48%) had DMFT data available both before and after SSBT implementation. The absence of documented oral-health references was significantly associated with lower median pGNI (p < 0.01), although this finding should be interpreted cautiously because of missing pGNI values and the small secondary-reference group. Explicit oral-health objectives were more frequent in jurisdictions within the WHO Western Pacific Region (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Oral-health references are absent from SSBT legal texts and inconsistently represented in related policy documents, although this does not demonstrate that oral health was absent from policy deliberations. Moreover, only a minority of jurisdictions have DMFT data available both before and after SSBT implementation, limiting the capacity to evaluate the oral-health outcomes of taxation policies.
SN - 2673-4842
ER -