Xpress Dental Clinic

Can Red Wine Help in Preventing Dental Caries?

According to some media reports, red wine and de-alcoholized red wine can help in inhibiting dental caries. Dental practitioners are scrutinizing these reports as results of the actual study show do not totally support this claim.

 

McAllen, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/23/2014 -- Red wine, with all its benefits in lowering cholesterol, protecting the heart, controlling blood sugar, boosting brain, and a lot more health benefits, seems to bring the dental industry a good news, as featured in Huffington Post, Medical News Today, and other media. Based on the press releases, according to a laboratory study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, red wine can potentially help avert the presence of dental caries.

Media coverage might have hyped the likelihood of red wine to fight cavities. Based on reports, researchers detailed that red wine and red wine without alcohol hinder the development of certain bacteria created in oral biofilm. But results of the actual study yielded observations showing null effect on the growth of S. mutans which are the bacteria related to dental caries, with or without the use of red wine. Five oral pathogens comprised the biofilm being used in the experiment. These are Streptococcus mutans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Stroptococcus oralis, Actinomyces oris, and Veillonella dispar. According to the actual research, “The study showed that chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) was more effective than the other substances studied in reducing microbial levels. However, in clinical studies 0.5% to 1.0% chlorhexidine gel or rinse is not very effective in caries prevention according to ADA Evidence-Based Dentistry Guidelines”.

The press releases relating to the use of red wine in preventing dental caries are being scrutinized by dental practitioners. With the US Food and Drug Administration prohibits chlorhexidine products being used to prevent caries, results of the studies using red wine and red wine without alcohol seem to show conflicting results. This further leads to the conclusion that in vitro lab testing is not 100% correct when forecasting results of certain studies for products being used clinically.

Researchers also revealed that based on the study conducted, red wine and even those which do not have alcohol content were helpful in inhibiting the growth of F. nucleatum and S. oralis. This does not necessarily support the claim that red wine is supplemental to periodontal health. Experiments showed that this is possible if the practice of using red wine and de-alcoholized red wine will be done for two minutes every seven hours for seven days. Up until now, there are no solid findings showing the red wine indeed can be used for preventing dental caries. What the study revealed support further studies.

With all these hypes and press releases on the use of red wine for dental health, the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Industry, along with the other known practitioners in dental health, like the Xpress Dental in McAllen, Texas, still recommend to regularly follow the dental health routines that are proven effective: Always brush the teeth at least twice a day using ADA-accepted fluoride toothpaste, visit the dentist regularly, clean between the teeth once a day, and eat a healthy diet.

About Xpress Dental Clinic
Xpress Dental Clinic prides on being a different dental office, where they utilize technology and focus on customer service to enhance the patient experience. They believe that going to the dentist should be a positive experience and always strive for excellence by always looking into how they may improve their level of service.