Chocolate helps fight tooth-decay

CHOCOLATE HEALTHY FOR TEETH: Reserch shows chocolate may be healthy to fight against tooth decay

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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New Delhi: Ever imagined that brushing your teeth with chocolate might actually be healthy for your teeth? According to Tulane University doctoral candidate Arman Sadeghpour, an extract of cocoa powder, which is found naturally in chocolates, teas, and other products, might prove to be a natural alternative to fluoride in toothpaste.

His research reveals that the cocoa extracts are more effective than fluoride in fighting cavities. Out of the extract comes a white crystalline powder whose chemical make up is similar to caffeine helps to harden the teeth enamel, which makes the users less vulnerable to tooth decay.

Researchers at Osaka University in Japan carried out a study similar to his research. It found that parts of the cocoa bean, the main ingredient of chocolate, thwart mouth bacteria and tooth decay.

They concluded that the cocoa bean husk - the outer part of the bean which usually goes to waste in chocolate production - has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and can fight effectively against plaque and other damaging agents.

Fluoride was first used in toothpaste in 1914,when it started to get commercialized. The cocoa extract could become the first major innovation to commercial toothpaste.

Sadeghpour feels that this research has been effective in the animal model, but it may take another two to four years before the product can be fit for human use and to market.

He has however created a prototype of peppermint-flavored toothpaste that has the extracts cocoa, which has the potential to fight cavities.

To compare the effects of fluoride and cocoa extracts, he has checked them side-by-side on the enamel surface of human teeth

Sadeghpour's research group included scientists from Tulane, the University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University's School of Dentistry.

A spokeswoman for the British Dental Association said: "If it's true that chocolate does help reduce dental decay and cavities that can only be a good thing, but you must remember that chocolate contains sugar”.

"Our advice remains the same: if people want to eat sugary sweets and drinks they should limit them to meal times, and visit their dentist regularly”, she added.

(with agency inputs)