Can red wine fight cavities?

Red wine, we know it has antioxidants.  We know it stains your teeth, but do we know if it helps fight cavities?, possibly.  A new study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed that in a lab setting, red wine was able to reduce or remove dental disease-causing bacteria in bacteria-ridden biofilm samples.  Researchers used a variety of liquids for the study, inc
06112014-wineluding Pinot Noir, an alcohol-free version of the same wine, a version with grape seed extract and a solution of water with 12 percent ethanol.  Five saliva samples were taken from volunteers for the purpose of growing biofilms lush with the bacteria that cause dental disease.

After dipping the biofilms into the various liquids, researchers found that the alcoholic, non-alcoholic and grape seed extract wine all effectively removed or reduced bacteria.  Although ethanol is in wine and is known to be antimicrobial, what was truly interesting was that even the non-alcoholic wine reduced bacteria.  The study further explains: “Since treatments of the biofilm with both wine and dealcoholized wine inhibited the growth of bacterium F. Nucleatum, it was likely that other wine components — apart from ethanol — had antimicrobial properties against this bacteria species.”

Though patients could welcome the suggestion, we wouldn’t recommend promoting wine as a good oral health drink just yet, considering this study was conducted in a lab setting.  According to the Huffington Post, cheese, celery and pears are all far more tried-and-true in the “good for teeth” foods department.

Source: Prevention, May 2014

 

Dr. Jeffrey Samyn
Northshore Endodontics
Specialty Care Rooted in Compassion
Northshore-endo.com

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