Fighting sugar, protecting patients: ADA advocacy in action 

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in January, the updated recommendations reflected extensive advocacy efforts, scientific review and public input. For the ADA, it  reflects years of sustained advocacy focused on the impacts of sugar.   

“It is helpful to see added sugars addressed more directly in the new guidelines, especially as we continue to understand the impact of excess sugar intake on oral and overall health,” said ADA President Richard Rosato, D.D.S.  

First introduced in 1980, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every five years by HHS and the USDA. They shape federal nutrition programs, inform school meals and influence national health messaging. The latest edition takes a firmer stance on added sugars, stating that “no amount of added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners is recommended or considered part of a healthy or nutritious diet.” It urges Americans to avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and maintains that added sugars should account for no more than 10% of daily calories.  

That language aligns with longstanding ADA recommendations and reflects positions the Association emphasized in formal comments and direct outreach. In a Feb. 2025 letter to HHS responding to the Scientific Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the ADA stated that “from a dental perspective, no amount of sugar can be consumed without increasing the risk for tooth decay.”   

The statement was part of a broader, multi-year strategy that began internally. In 2023, during his tenure as ADA president, George Shepley, D.D.S., established a task force to assess the scope of sugar consumption and determine how dentistry could contribute to improving overall health. Specifically, the Task Force on Sugar, Nutrition, and Diet reviewed existing ADA policies on sugar, nutrition and diet and proposed policy changes that would expand the ADA’s involvement with other stakeholders and facilitate dental-medical collaboration.   

“I always said that if the ADA did not take a lead to address sugar consumption, who else would do it?” Dr. Shepley said. “We strive as dentists to make people healthy every day, and I was so pleased when I was asked to participate in public input for the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans review. It was a real opportunity to finally get our leaders in Washington to pay attention to the impacts of sugar in our diets.”  

The ADA sugar task force brought together subject matter experts from dentistry, dietetics and endocrinology to evaluate strategies ranging from clearer food labeling to local soda taxes and coalition-building across health professions. The goal was not simply to comment on policy, but to build a body of evidence and partnerships that could inform national discussions.  

Brett Kessler, D.D.S., who later served as ADA president, emphasized that the initiative was intentionally tied to the Association’s mission.  

“Our mission at the ADA is to ensure member success and improve the health of the communities we serve,” Dr. Kessler said. “Notice it doesn’t say improving the oral health of the communities, it says improving the health of the communities.”  

He described the sugar task force as “out of the norm” but directly aligned with that broader objective, noting that it served as an opportunity to improve the health of patients.  

As administrations changed, the ADA developed a proactive strategy. In January 2025, the Association published its first Washington Post opinion editorial outlining dentistry’s perspective on sugar, ultra-processed foods and chronic disease. The ADA followed with direct outreach to policymakers and a Journal of the American Dental Association editorial highlighting areas of alignment with federal priorities.  

“When we’re coalescing on values and things, we should go for it and be an ally,” Dr. Kessler said. “We know that improving periodontal health will improve a patient’s ability to modulate their sugar.”  

The stronger language on added sugars in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines illustrates how sustained engagement can in part shape federal guidance over time, Dr. Kessler said. This includes formal comments, coalition-building, research, public messaging and direct meetings with policymakers.  

While the Dietary Guidelines are not dental policy, they influence nutrition programs and public health priorities nationwide. For the ADA, advocating on sugar was not only about reducing tooth decay, but also about positioning oral health within the broader health conversation and helping align federal guidance with clinical experience in dentistry.   

For more information on ADA advocacy, visit ADA.org/Advocacy.