Red wine may stain your teeth, but new research shows it also keeps them from decaying. Italian scientists demonstrated red wine made it difficult for harmful bacteria to cling to teeth, and, in a statement on the United Kingdom's National Health Service site, concluded that the prevention of tooth decay "may be another beneficial effect of the moderate consumption of red wine."
The bacteria that causes the most dental damage is streptococcus mutans, which sets up housekeeping in the mouth by sticking to tooth enamel and living off sugar. Once this bad bacteria takes hold, it triggers demineralization, and acid begins making pits.
Following the lead of U.S. scientists, who last year discovered that chemicals in the seeds and skins of wine grapes blocked the ability of bacteria to bind with tooth enamel, researchers at Italy's Pavia University conducted experiments using red wine. In order to rule out any effect of alcohol on the research, they used an Italian wine with all its alcohol removed, and found that it indeed had the same effect of making it difficult for bacteria to attach themselves and also kept them from forming a layer of biofilm on teeth.
The active protective ingredient, the Italians said, was a group of compounds found mainly in grape skins called proanthocyanidins, which are high in antioxidants. They are now investigating the possibility of extracting the compounds and using them as a form of treatment on their own.
If red wine is so good for teeth, what about white wine? It turns out that those who prefer white wine are out of luck at least as far as dental health is concerned. Another recent study demonstrated that white wine could actually be harmful to teeth because its high acid content erodes tooth enamel.
For the moment, at least, when glasses are raised with toasts of "Salud!" it might be best to hoist a glass of red (but no more than two a day for men and one for women). Besides the dental benefits, even more studies suggest that moderate drinkers of red wine score higher on mental acuity tests than teetotalers, and that it can improve the immune system as well as battle diabetes, obesity, and the onset of aging.
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