Cocoa and dental health

Remember the old expression An Apple a Day keeps the dentist away…well today following extensive research that expression might read take some cocoa powder a day keeps the dentist away. Recent studies have proved that cocoa bean husks (CBH) is even more effective than fluoride in preventing tooth decay.

Obviously, no one is suggesting that you eat loads of chocolate bars before visiting the dentist because that would be foolish. It’s the sugar in chocolate bars that feeds the bacteria in our mouths that then produce the acid that eats the enamel on our teeth and rots away at the underlying teeth.

So, in the not too distant future expect to see CBH as one of the ingredients in our favourite toothpaste or mouth wash. But it’s not just CBH that could put a smile on your face. Cocoa powder (minus the sugar) has more than 300 chemicals that actively act against tooth decay, plaque formation and cavities. Besides the CBH there is Theobromine that actively hardens the outer surface of the tooth and provides super shine to teeth. It also has ant-bacterial qualities to kill streptococcus mutants that are famous for dental cavities.