Proactive Anti-Oral Health Remedy : Red Wine -- Indulge! ?

"Traditional therapies used for the maintenance of oral health present some limitations, and the search of natural-origin therapies is gaining attention."
Spanish researchers

"Mouthwashes and chewing gums have been proposed as interesting matrices for the application of dietary polyphenols in the management of oral health."
"We tested concentrations in the range normally found in wine - 50 and 10 g/ml."
"Working with cells that model gum tissue we found the two wine polyphenols - caffeic and p-coumaric acids - were generally better than the total wine extracts at cutting back on the bacteria's ability to stick to the cells."
"When combined with Streptococcus dentisani the polyphenols were even better at fending off the pathogenic bacteria."
Dr. Victoria Moreno-Arribas, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid

"It's wonderful, important work. Pretty well every university involved in oral health research is looking at ways to interrupt the process by which plaque adheres and causes dental damage."
"[A test-tube study] is miles from being a product that can be helpful in the real world. But that's how scientific breakthroughs are made."
"The ultimate goal would be to have a rinse or toothpaste or some other dental product that would do both [keep bacteria from adhering to teeth or render it incapable of causing disease]."
"If you remove that sticky layer [conventionally; brushing and flossing at least once daily] nothing else adheres. [Briefly washing red wine alternatively through one's teeth would have little effect] And you still have the alcohol content and other things in wine. I don't think we know what the long-term effects would be."
Dr. Larry Levin, president, Canadian Dental Association

"It's important not to brush your teeth immediately after drinking wine, because the wine is acidic [again, red, white, rosé and even Champagne] and so the enamel can be temporarily softened [wait 30 minutes after your last glass and then brush]."
"We always advise patients to swish around with water in between glasses of wine [to avoid having the acid settle on the teeth]."
Dr. Sivan Finkel, eNews

Chemicals in wine have been found to combat mouth bacteria that potentially causes gum disease   Getty

This week a study produced by a Spanish team of researchers was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study discovered two polyphenols in red wine to have antioxidant effects appearing to aid in preventing plaque-causing bacteria from forming the sticky films on teeth and gums that we know as plaque, the plague of teeth hygiene maintenance. These natural compounds, according to the researchers, are capable of producing results superior to the conventional methods used in dental hygiene, promoted by the medical-dental community.

How the polyphenols work to reduce the stickiness of accumulated bacteria is unknown as yet. Others in the field caution that the experimental doses appeared much higher in concentration than would normally occur when drinking wine. This is, however, clearly an important step forward in the search for protocols that would aid in combating tooth decay. Cavities and gum disease leading to tooth loss affect 60 to 99 percent of the global population. The bacterial plaque comprised of colonies of bacteria are stubbornly difficult to destroy.

This same Spanish team of researchers earlier grew laboratory cultures of cavity-causing bacteria, then proceeded to immerse the biofilms in various liquids. Red wine turned out the clear winner in destroying the bacteria. Furthermore as the researchers manipulated cells mimicking gum tissue, they discovered two red wine polyphenols in particular; caffeic and p-Coumaric acid to be a vast improvement over total wine extracts in their capacity to disrupt porphyromonas gingivalis and other like bacteria from sticking to gums.

With the addition of 'friendly' bacteria (probiotics) the decay-preventive effects were even more pronounced. The working hypothesis seems to be that metabolites forming when polyphenols are digested in the human mouth may play a vital role. From this important data extracted thus far it is hoped that new treatments may be discovered using these findings as a base. The universal search by scientists for new protocols to keep bacteria from adhering to teeth and gums causing disease has been given a huge boost.

Bottoms up! And rinse afterward. Wait awhile, and brush your teeth....

There are however risks associated with drinking wine due to its acidic content   Getty