Scientists have long probed the potential health benefits of green tea, a favourite beverage in the far east, but now a team of researchers from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry has highlighted the benefits that drinking black tea can have for your teeth. Their findings were presented to the American Society for Microbiology in Florida.
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Led by Dr Christina Wu, the team discovered that black tea could have a “significant” impact on dental health, as the compounds it contains may attack the harmful, cavity-causing bacteria and the acid in dental plaque.
Black tea is also thought to reduce the overall amount of plaque in the mouth, as certain bacterial plaque cannot link together as easily. This process of plaque accumulation is further impaired by the way black tea affects the bacterial enzyme glucosyltranferase, which converts sugars into the sticky substances that allows plaque to stick to the teeth.
Wu added however that tea cannot be relied upon alone to ensure oral health, and people need to ensure that they also look after their teeth in other ways.
