Chinese tea (Oral Health)

Tea and Oral Health

Dental disease has become a significant problem all over the world specially these days it seems to have an

increasing trend for tooth loss in adulthood.

So…what are the main dental disease?

1. Dental Caries: caused by bacterial acid production, specially the bacteria in the dental plaque.

2. Acid Erosion: caused by the acid from foods and drinks, or regurgitations from the stomach.

3. Periodontal Disease: caused by the inflammation of the gum (this has appeared to be the main cause of

adult’s tooth loss)
How to prevent the dental disease?
1. Good oral hygiene practices

2. Fluoride Protection

3.Reducing the consumption of sugar containing foods and drinks and also the acidic beverage

What exactly can tea do to protect our teeth?

Fluoride Protection:
As we all know the fluoride is always being added into tooth-paste to make the teeth harder and more

resistant to the acid attack.

But where do we get good fluoride?The tea plant extracts fluoride from the soil, which then accumulates in

its leaves. For this reason tea is a very rich source of fluoride. Dry tea leaves may contain 4-400ppm

fluoride, and one cup of brewed tea may contain 0.3mg–0.5mg of fluoride. In fact, in the tea drinking

country, 70% of the daily fluoride intake comes from the tea.

How much fluoride can be left on the surface of our tooth to protect our teeth?

Research shows that after rinsing with tea, 34% of the fluoride can be retained in the oral cavity and some

of this even showed a very strong binding ability to enamel particles on the tooth surface. It means the

fluoride from tea might protect our tooth better.
Bacteria inhibition:

As we have talked about Tannins and Flavonoids in the Tea Nutrition chapter, we know that tea is one of the

best natural source of Tannins and Flavonoids. It has been reported that the tannins and Flavonoids in the

cup of tea can inhibit the growth of S. mutans bacteria and cariogenic bacteria which are the major factor in

the build-up of dental plaque.

Acid erosion reducing:

In addition to its beneficial effect on plaque, tannin along with other components of tea such as catechin,

caffeine and tocopherol have been shown to be effective in increasing the acid resistance of tooth enamel.

And their effects increased dramatically when they were used in combination with fluoride.

Therefore, these days, more and more studies have shown the potential benefit of the tea for oral health. And

it is suggested the drinking good tea together with proper dietary advice can prevent dental decay, thereby

helping to develop and maintain a healthy oral condition. http://www.chinesetea-shop.com/