***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Background / Objectives : Caries and erosion are common diseases of the dental hard tissues . The influence of vegetarianism on the development of caries and erosion has scarcely been investigated in the past . The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of fruit consumption and topical fluoride application on the prevalence of caries and erosion  in vegetarians . Subjects/ Methods : In 100 vegetarians and 100 nonvegetarians , a dental examination was performed . The indices for decayed , missing , filled teeth ( DMFT ) and surfaces ( DMFS ) were determined . DMFT and DMFS were subdivided into decayed teeth ( DT ) , filled teeth ( FT ) , decayed surfaces ( DS ) and filled surfaces ( FS ) . In addition , the hygiene index and the number of teeth with dental erosion ( DE ) , root caries ( RC ) and overhanging restoration margins ( ORM ) were recorded . A question naire assessed patients ’ eating habits , frequency of oral hygiene , dentist visits and  topical fluoride application . For statistical analysis , unpaired t-test , Mann – Whitney test and Pearson ’s chi-square test were applied . Results : Vegetarians had significantly more DT ( P<0.001 ) , DS ( P<0.001 ) , more teeth with DE ( P=0.026 ) , RC ( P=0.002 ) and ORM ( P<0.001 ) than nonvegetarians . Daily consumption of fruits was significantly more prevalent ( P<0.001 ) , and  topical fluoride application was less prevalent ( P<0.001 ) in vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians . In particular , fluoride-containing toothpaste ( P<0.001 ) and table salt ( P=0.039 ) were less frequently used in vegetarians . Conclusion : The presented data suggest that vegetarians have an increased risk for caries and erosion .  Topical fluoride application was shown to be effective in preventing caries , but not in preventing erosion AIM The aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of fluorotherapy on the oral health of subjects who had been following a vegan diet ( lacking in meat and animal derivatives ) for a long period of time ( at least 1 year and 6 months ) . METHODS A preliminary study ( t0 ) evaluated 50 subjects , all from northern Italy and aged 24 - 60 years ( 28 male and 22 female ) who had been following a vegan diet for a minimum of 18 months to a maximum of 20 years , and compared them with a control group of 50 individuals following a Mediterranean diet .  All vegan subjects showed oral changes such as white spots , lesions invisible to the naked eye and decreased salivary pH values ( ~5 - 6 ) . In a second study ( t1 ) , the 50 vegan subjects were r and omly divided into two subgroups of 25 . Subgroup SG1 underwent fluorotherapy with sodium fluoride ( Elmex fluoride gel ® 1.25 % ) administered once daily for 1 year . Subgroup SG2 served as controls and did not receive fluorotherapy . The following parameters were recorded before the start of fluorotherapy and again after 1 year : salivary pH ; Decayed , Missing , Filled teeth Index ; presence and location of white spots and lesions not visible to the naked eye ; Plaque Index , and Gingival Index . RESULTS In SG1 , larger lesions became smaller in diameter and small lesions disappeared , a statistically significant improvement compared with SG2 , despite the persistence of restricted eating habits and the oral hygiene conditions being similar to those at t0 . Salivary pH showed no significant change in either subgroup . CONCLUSION Daily application of a topical 1.25 % fluoride gel is effective in reducing the incidence of white spot lesions caused by a vegan diet 
    Output:
    
There was inconsistent evidence for a link between following a vegetarian diet and dental caries or the number of natural teeth .
Conclusions Within the limitations of the present study , the findings suggest that following a vegetarian diet may be associated with a greater risk of dental erosion