Oral Health: Bacteria Fighters, Tooth Decay, Plaque, & Bad Breath

Dealing with parasites, there is the unusual craving for sweets. For a number of years, I've had a cup of tea after eating sweets -  the benefits seem to be clear.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010523072047.htm

Tea Fights Cavities, Reduces Plaque

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2001) — Drinking tea may help fight cavities. A group of researchers from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry believe that black tea and its components benefit oral healh by interfering with the harmful plaque bacteria in the mouth that cause gum disease and cavities. They report their results at the 101st General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida.

"In recent years, many symposia and publications have focused on the health effects of green teas. Earlier studies by Japanese scientists have suggested that consumption of green tea lead to reduction of dental cavities in humans," says Dr. Christina Wu, the principle investigator of the study. "However less attention has been focused on black tea, the more popular drink in the Western countries, and worldwide 80 percent of the tea consumed is black tea."

Dr. Wu and her colleagues found that compounds in black tea were capable of killing or suppressing growth and acid production of cavity-causing bacteria in dental plaque. Black tea also affects the bacterial enzyme glucosyltranferase which is responsible for converting sugars into the sticky matrix material that plaque uses to adhere to teeth. In addition, certain plaque bacteria, upon exposure to black tea, lost their ability to form the clumpy aggregates with other bacteria in plaque, thereby reducing the total mass of the dental plaque.

One study conducted in Dr. Wu's lab found that when volunteers rinsed with black tea for 30 seconds five times at 3-minute intervals plaque bacteria stopped growing and producing acid, which breaks down the teeth and causes cavities. This research supports an earlier Swedish study that found rinsing the mouth with black tea significantly reduced plaque build-up.

"It is our belief of these researchers that the intake of black tea can be signficant to imporove oral health of the general public," says Wu. "If sequenced properly between meals and normal oral hygiene, a reduction in dental caries may be possible. Drinking tea may have added oral health benefits by controlling through 'prevention' the most prevalent diseases of mankind, mainly caries and periodontal disease."

Adapted from materials provided by American Society For Microbiology.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050613062724.htm

Raisins As A Functional Food For Oral Health

ScienceDaily (Jun. 13, 2005) — Compounds found in raisins fight bacteria in the mouth that cause cavities and gum disease, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Dentistry.

"Our laboratory analyses showed that phytochemicals in this popular snack food suppress the growth of several species of oral bacteria associated with caries and gum disease," said Christine D. Wu, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the UIC College of Dentistry and lead author of the study.

The data will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology beginning June 5, 2005.

Routine chemical analyses identified five compounds in Thompson seedless raisins: oleanolic acid, oleanolic aldehyde, betulin, betulinic acid, and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural. All of these are known phytochemicals - antioxidants found in plants.

Oleanolic acid inhibited the growth of two species of oral bacteria: Streptococcus mutans, which causes cavities, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, which causes periodontal disease.

The compound was effective against the bacteria at concentrations ranging from about 4 to 1,000 µg/ml. At a concentration of 31 µg/ml, oleanolic acid also blocked S. mutans adherence to surfaces. Adherence is crucial for the bacteria to form dental plaque, the sticky biofilm consisting of oral bacteria that accumulates on teeth. After a sugary meal, these bacteria release acids that erode the tooth enamel.

Wu said that the data counter a longstanding public perception that raisins promote cavities.

"Raisins are perceived as sweet and sticky, and any food that contains sugar and is sticky is assumed to cause cavities," Wu said. "But our study suggests the contrary. Phytochemicals in raisins may benefit oral health by fighting bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease."

In an earlier unpublished study, Wu’s collaborator Dr. Shahrbanoo Fadavi (Pediatric Dentistry, UIC College of Dentistry) found that adding raisins to bran cereal did not increase the acidity of dental plaque. However, the commercial raisin-bran cereal with added sugar was most acidogenic compared with raisins or bran cereal alone.

"Foods that are sticky do not necessarily cause tooth decay; it is mainly the added sugar (sucrose) that contributes to the problem" Wu said.

The present study was funded by the California Raisin Marketing Board.

Besides collaborator Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Adjunct Professor at the UIC College of Pharmacy, other scientists involved in the study were Dr. Jose F. Rivero-Cruz and Dr. Min Zhu (both, UIC College of Dentistry) and Dr. Baoning Su (UIC College of Pharmacy).

Adapted from materials provided by American Society for Microbiology.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119111138.htm

Sweet Magnolia: Tree Bark Extract Fights Bad Breath And Tooth Decay

ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2007) — "Sweet magnolia" does more than describe the fragrant blossoms of a popular evergreen tree. It also applies to magnolia bark's effects on human breath. Scientists in Illinois are reporting that breath mints made with magnolia bark extract kill most oral bacteria that cause bad breath and tooth decay within 30 minutes. The extract could be a boon for oral health when added to chewing gum and mints.

Consumers often turn to flavored chewing gum and mints to battle bad breath. However, those products only temporarily mask the odor of bad breath, which is caused by bacteria. Existing anti-bacterial products for bad breath are far from ideal, with some having side effects like tooth staining.

In the new study, Minmin Tian and Michael Greenberg tested the germ-killing power of magnolia bark extract using saliva samples taken from volunteers following a regular meal. Mints containing the extract killed more than 61 percent of the germs that cause bad breath within 30 minutes, compared with only a 3.6 percent germ-kill for the same flavorless mints without the extract, the researchers say.

The extract also showed strong antibacterial activity against a group of bacteria known to cause cavities. Mints and chewing gum containing the extract may also provide a "portable oral care supplement to dentifrice (toothpaste), where brushing is not possible," the study states.

The journal article,"Compressed Mints and Chewing Gum Containing Magnolia Bark Extract Are Effective against Bacteria Responsible for Oral Malodor"is scheduled for the Nov. 14 issue of the ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Adapted from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.