Coffee, Cocoa and Tea: Not Just A Caffeine Boost

But a Bacteria Destroyer

Over the age of 18 who drink coffee every day, coffee, cocoa and tea have positive effects on your dental health, including preventing tooth decay. So the nice energy boost that coffee provides is good for your teeth as well as those sluggish early mornings.

Coffee and dental health

Research has shown that drinking coffee may have one major benefit to your dental health: decreasing tooth decay.

This research is based on four different types of coffee beans: roasted Arabica, unroasted (green) Arabica, roasted Robusta, and unroasted (green) Robusta. The results showed that while all the samples yielded positive results, the unroasted samples were significantly less active than the roasted beans in reducing the amount of bacteria sticking to the teeth. Most coffees are from roasted beans anyway.

Cocoa is good

The reason why cocoa works so well has to do with the growth of bacteria on your teeth. The two main strains of bacteria that cause dental decay are Streptococcus sanguinis and Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). Although the case is not entirely clear, cocoa polyphenols seem to inhibit the growth of one of these strains, Streptococcus sanguinis, but not the other strain, S. mutans.

Drink tea for healthy teeth

There is a hugely beneficial property to tea called tea polyphenols. When they hit your teeth, they are responsible for protecting your teeth from dental decay through their incredible anti-microbial action.

Green tea, black tea and oolong tea (which is a tea that is somewhere in between the two in terms of fermentation time), have all been shown to be beneficial for oral health. Even though white tea has not been studied, it very likely has much of the same benefits as green tea. And due to its light color, it may also stain teeth less than green or black tea.

So, ultimately, if we needed another reason to indulge our cravings to drink coffee, cocoa and/or tea, this was it – it’s good for our teeth. The next time you want to curl up with a steaming cup of tea or coffee, just remember, besides being a nice caffeine source, they are also a source for fighting bacteria on your teeth.

Contact usMark C. Marchbanks, D.D.S.

2624 Matlock Road Suite 100, Arlington, TX 76015

Phone: (817) 261-2747

http://arlingtontexasdentist.net/