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Added Sugar in Raisin Cereals Increases Acidity of Dental Plaque
As Cosmetic dentists in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, several clients that come to Partners In Dental Health ask
about sugar and tooth decay. Elevated dental plaque acid is often a risk factor that contributes to 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, as outlined by new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Some dentists believe sweet, sticky foods including raisins cause cavities because they are hard to clear off of 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.
While in the study, published in the journal Pediatric Dentistry, children ages 7 to 11 compared four recommended 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 produced 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 Thirty minutes, with the largest production between
Ten to fifteen minutes.
Wu says there exists 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 did not reach that point after children consumed 10 grams of
raisins. Adding unsweetened raisins to bran flakes didn't increase plaque acid compared to bran flakes
alone.
However, eating commercially marketed raisin bran concluded in significantly more acid in the plaque, he said, reaching into
what Wu recognized 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
as 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 can inhibit the growth
of some oral bacteria connected to cavities or gum disease.
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