UK NEWS

A BLACK TEA A DAY CAN STOP TOOTH DECAY

Enjoy a cup of black tea

Saturday December 6,2008

By Jo Willey

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A DAILY cup of black tea can help to prevent tooth decay, researchers have found.

It protects teeth from rotting and has no effect on the enamel. But fizzy drinks and orange juice were found to cause dramatic tooth erosion.

The discovery follows recent research suggesting that tea is a healthier drink than water, as the antioxidants it contains could protect against cancer.

Dr Carrie Ruxton, of the Tea Advisory Panel, said the latest research in America shows the protective effects of tea could be down to several of its natural ingredients.

She said it is a natural source of fluoride, so it could make tooth enamel resistant to acid.

Also, tannins in tea appear to inhibit salivary amylase – an enzyme in saliva – from breaking down dietary starches into sugars in the mouth.

Teeth immersed in tea, like plain water, showed no erosive potential.

Dr Carrie Ruxton

Sugars are essential for mouth bacteria to cause tooth decay.

During the study, led by Dr Mohamed Bassiouny of Philadelphia’a School of Dentistry, researchers immersed 36 extracted molars in different liquids and analysed them over 20 weeks.

Water and tea caused no significant loss to the enamel of the teeth.

But cola caused a 28.3 per cent reduction and orange juice eroded enamel by 30.2 per cent.

A survey has shown that nearly half of British children have some dental erosion by the age of six.

Dr Ruxton said: “Dr Bassiouny’s study aimed to identify the erosive effects on teeth enamel of tea, without the addition of milk and sugar, and to compare it with that of cola, orange juice, vinegar and water.

“The teeth immersed in tea, like plain water, showed no erosive potential. By contrast, teeth immersed in vinegar saw complete erosion of the enamel, while those immersed in cola and orange juice also showed considerable erosion by 20 weeks. Erosion of tooth enamel is a significant cause of poor dental health in Britain.”

Previous studies have also shown that polyphenols and tannin in tea reduce the chances of tooth decay.

Simon Howell, campaign director of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: “We welcome any research which emphasises the importance of avoiding sugary sweets, snacks and drinks.

“Tooth decay is still a massive problem in Britain and it is caused mostly by high acidity in drinks like cola and orange juice which have hidden sugars that turn into acid and decay teeth.”

UTTER RUBBISH FROM SO-CALLED 'EXPERTS'

06.12.08, 10:19am

About as convincing as a daily blood-letting cures the ague - as the 'experts' thought back in the sixteenth century
Thes so-called 'experts' and their crap ideas!

• Posted by: eudoxia • Report Comment