We have long thought that green tea was bad for our pearly whites. But it seems like it is the other way around. According to a latest study, the antimicrobial molecules in green tea actually serve to strengthen and preserve one’s teeth. The findings of that specific study show that the participants who drank a cup of tea a day had less chances of losing their teeth. The respondents of the study were individuals aged 40-64. The study also explored the effects of drinking coffee. According to the said research, drinking coffee as long as it does not contain sugar will have no deleterious effect on one’s teeth.
If an apple a day can keep your doctor away, apparently a cup of tea a day will have the same effect on one’s dentist. This research was published in Preventive Medicine with the findings of the study as green tea being helpful in helping aging individuals keep their teeth even as their age progresses. The explanation for this could be the fact that green tea is bactericidal in nature due to its catechins. However, drinkers need to be careful not to add sweeteners to their tea. This is because sugar actually has a counter effect on tea’s antimicrobial properties.
The findings of the research were supported by Alfredo Morabia of Columbia University based in New York. According to Morabia, who serves as the editor of Preventive Medicine, it is not just green tea which carries beneficial effects for one’s oral health. Coffee which has long been regarded as harmful to our teeth has now escaped that unfair misconception with this research. As long as sugar is not added, coffee does not bring any negative effect to teeth.
The study was conducted by Yasushi Koyama who works at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine with the help of his colleagues. He and his team went through 25,000 Japanese men and women throughout the course of that study in order to come up with the results. The respondents were between the ages of 40-64.
The specific results of the study showed that men and women who consumed at least a cup of tea daily were less likely to have less than 20 teeth than those who did not by 19 percent 13 percent, respectively. An entire set of teeth including wisdom teeth totals 32. Another explanation for this phenomenon has to do with the assertion that green tea helps to prevent the onset of periodontal disease which is the leading cause of teeth loss.
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