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Added Sugar in Raisin Cereals Increases Acidity of Dental Plaque
As Cosmetic dentists in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, a lot of clients that come to Partners In Dental Health ask
about sugar and cavities. Elevated dental plaque acid is a risk factor that plays a role
in cavities in children. But eating bran flakes with raisins containing no added sugar won't promote more
acid in dental plaque than bran flakes alone, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Some dentists believe sweet, sticky foods for instance raisins cause cavities as they are hard to clear off the tooth surfaces, said Christine Wu, professor and director of cariology research at UIC and lead investigator of the
study.
But research indicates that raisins are rapidly cleared from the surface of the teeth much like apples, bananas and chocolate, she
said.
In the study, published in the journal Pediatric Dentistry, children ages 7 to 11 compared four daily food groups
- raisins, bran flakes, commercially marketed raisin bran cereal, and a mix of bran flakes with raisins lacking any added sugar.
Sucrose, or white sugar, and sorbitol, a sugar substitute often used in diet foods, were also tested as controls.
Children chewed and swallowed the test foods within two minutes. The acid created by the plaque bacteria on the surface of their teeth
was measured at intervals.
All test foods except the sorbitol solution promoted acid production in dental plaque over 30 minutes, with the largest production between
Ten to fifteen minutes.
Wu says there's a "well-documented" danger zone of dental plaque acidity that puts a tooth’s enamel at risk for mineral loss that may lead to
cavities. Achint Utreja, a research scientist and dentist formerly on Wu’s team, said plaque acidity didn't reach that point after children consumed 10 grams of
raisins. Adding unsweetened raisins to bran flakes did not increase plaque acid in comparison to bran flakes
alone.
However, eating commercially marketed raisin bran led to significantly more acid in the plaque, he said, reaching into
what Wu identified as the danger zone.
Plaque bacteria on tooth surfaces can ferment various sugars such as glucose, fructose or sucrose and produce acids that may promote decay. But sucrose is also
used by bacteria to produce sticky sugar polymers that help the bacteria remain on tooth surfaces, Wu said. Raisins themselves do not contain
sucrose.
In a previous study at UIC, researchers identified several natural compounds from raisins that may inhibit the increase
of some oral bacteria linked to cavities or gum disease.
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