Simply brushing your teeth is rarely enough to guarantee perfect dental health. Food remnants have a way of escaping a brush attack. And even if you get rid of all food residue in your mouth, there is always that period between brushing sessions. This is sometimes all that bacteria need to destroy your teeth and gums.
The best chance of ensuring that there are reduced risks of bacteria exploiting this window is to deny them the food that they need to survive. This means keeping away from sugary foods and drinks. And in case that doesn't work, taking a cup of green tea seems to be a reasonable alternative.
The study
In an effort to study the benefits of green tea when it comes to dental care, a group of scientists decided to carry an experiment on people who had different stages of gum disease. They zeroed down on 940 Japanese men.
The experiment was simple. Get them to drink tea and keep track to the changes in the severity of their infections.
The results
The scientists observed that the intake of tea had a significant effect on their infections. The patients who had receding gums, saw their condition improve. And those who had bleeding gums experienced less bleeding. This however only happened in cases where the person in question took at least a cup of green tea a day.
Why it worked
It worked because green tea contains catechins, which are natural anti-oxidants. What this means is that with every cup of green tea that a person took, he or she introduced a good amount of disease-fighting compounds into their body. Every cup of tea essentially gave their gums and teeth a better fighting chance against teeth and gum infections.
Why it's even better for you
The study confirmed that green tea was effective in helping the body win a war against already-advanced dental complications. This is good news for everyone who is simply trying to keep their teeth healthy. Think about it. If green tea is really effective in waging war against a condition that is past its beginning-phase, can you imagine how effective it can be in helping you to prevent an infection.
The only thing to remember
Green tea works. But its effectiveness in helping keep your teeth healthy will be reduced if you take it with sugar. This is because bacteria like sugars. And while the anti-oxidant in the tea will still work its magic, creating an environment in which more bacteria can thrive will make winning the healthy-teeth campaign, harder. Make sure to ask your family dentist or a place like Discovery Dental for other ideas.
Share15 January 2015
Halloween is a holiday that my children love, and telling them they can't go door-to-door collecting candy would break their hearts. This led me to allowing them to collect candy on the holiday, then rationing it out to them every day instead of letting them gobble it up in just a few days. I always thought this was better for them, but my dentist told me this could be the reason why their February dental check-ups were always their worst ones. Daily candy consumption was taking a toll on their teeth. I started a new tradition of letting them indulge for two days, then giving them the option to swap the rest with me in exchange for a new toy. They never pass on the opportunity for a new toy. I created this blog to encourage other parents find similar tactics to keep their children's teeth healthy after Halloween.