Maintaining healthy teeth isn't always a matter of more toothpaste and less candy. London health expert Angela Dowden says a bar of chocolate, or a cup of tea, or even sipping through a straw can help do the job.
It may come as a surprise, but a dark bar of chocolate, with its high cocoa-to-sugar ratio, can be useful in protecting against tooth decay, she says. "Extracts of defatted cocoa have been found to reduce the ability of oral bacteria to make a substance that helps them to stick to teeth."
Dowden says tea is a natural dietary source of fluoride, which can help prevent the loss of minerals from teeth and thus help stop decay. And using a straw to sip sugary or acidic drinks can reduce their potential for causing damage to teeth.
Researchers at Glasgow Dental School in Scotland also suggest that using too much water to rinse the mouth after brushing the teeth can be harmful. Apparently this washes away the toothpaste's fluoride, which otherwise would penetrate the teeth and provide protection.
