Should You Drink Red Wine for Dental Health?

People drink wine for a variety of reasons: the taste, the many suspected benefits, or simply to unwind at the end of the day. But research recently published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry may give you another reason to add moderate red wine consumption to your to-do list: improved oral health.

According to the study, red wine is effective at combating bacteria associated with periodontal disease, which can mean gingivitis or the escalated periodontitis – which develops due to inadequate hygiene.

The researchers used a biofilm model of plaque that included five different species of bacteria common in gum and tooth disease. These cultures were placed in red wine—both with alcohol and without, in red wine combined with grape seed extract, in water, and in 12% ethanol for just a couple of minutes.

Out of all the solutions, the red wine (both with and without alcohol), and the wine combined with grape seed extract, performed the best.

“Our results show that red wine, at moderate concentration, inhibits the growth of some pathogenic species in an oral biofilm model,” concluded the study.

The mouth is one of the most chemically complex habitats in the body. Hundreds of different bacteria exist here, all in constant contact with your teeth and gums. Because the teeth don’t shed (like skin), they are vulnerable to these bacterium and the resulting formations of plaque and biofilms.

Bacteria like lactobacilli and streptococci in the mouth produce acids when combined with the fermentation of sugars in the diet. Eventually, these acids demineralize the teeth and lead to gum disease or tooth loss, something Medical News Today reports 60-90 percent of the world’s population is affected by.

Scientists are looking for natural alternatives to the antimicrobial prescriptions that can have unintended side effects, including the possible contribution to drug resistant bacteria.
Though while red wine for dental health is a compelling reason to enjoy another glass, there are indeed other options.

Oil pulling with coconut oil or sesame oil could be an effective, fun, and very interesting method of eliminating potentially harmful bacteria in the mouth while even possibly repairing existing tooth decay and cavities.

As Anthony Gucciardi reported, coconut oil is particularly potent when used in improving oral health, whitening death, repairing carries, and fighting candida albicans, a yeast with long-term effects.