Wine & Dental Health
Although I am not a big fan of wine, I have certainly heard about and read the research that touts the heath benefits of drinking 2-4 glasses of wine per week. New research now shows that those same health benefits includes building stronger teeth. I am sure that some wine-drinkers will take this to extremes and go a little overboard… but before you rush off to the State Store, read a little further…
Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland found that patients who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (as defined by less that one glass per day but no more than 2-4 glasses per week) had a lower incidence of cardiovascular death than those who did not drink at all. Moderate drinkers also had a lower rate of heart attack and stroke as well as a lower rate of overall mortality. Most of us have been aware of this research.
However, it was scientists from the Research Institute for Food Science in Madrid and Zurich who found that red wine also strengthened teeth and lowered periodontal disease and cavities due to its antimicrobial properties. Researchers put red wine onto a bio-film model of human dental plaque containing bacteria as well as wine that had its alcohol removed (they used the word de-alcoholized which my spell check hated), red wine with grape seed extract, water, and a 12% ethanol solution. The results showed that red wine with grape seed extract was the best at killing bacteria with the full-strength wine and alcohol-free wines coming in second and third place respectively. If we take the results of this study as fact, then both grape seed extract and red wine could be used in oral health care products to help improve oral health. Conversely, when you are at happy hour and having a glass of wine, you can tell all of your friends that you are only there for health-related reasons and following your dentist and physician’s orders.
The results of this second study will soon be published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
Cheers!
~Dr. Dave