Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 60, Issue 2, March–April 2015, Page e53
Dental Abstracts

Hands On
Tea plus milk

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2015.01.032Get rights and content

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Background

Tea is second only to water as the most common drink in the world. It offers health benefits that are further increasing its popularity, which also raises concerns about its ability to stain the dentition. Consumers are highly motivated to obtain and maintain as white a dentition as possible, as the wide availability of surface whitening and vital bleaching agents will attest. The percent of tooth color depends on both intrinsic and extrinsic tooth stains. Intrinsic tooth stains are integrated

Methods

The 42 extracted teeth were immersed in a tea solution, then divided into groups for the addition of 2% milk, 5.26% lactose, 2.7% casein, or 10% fat-free milk. A tea-only group served as the control. The various groups were stored for 24 hours at 37° C. Tooth color was assessed using a dental spectrophotometer before and after immersion in the tea solutions. Color space values and the change in color were also recorded. The groups were compared to determine if their values differed

Results

Adding milk to the tea significantly reduced the change in color compared with control values. The color space values were also significantly lower for the tea plus milk solution than for the group having tea alone. The change in color test indicated that casein is the component of milk that limits staining. Casein significantly reduced the staining of enamel compared to the control sample, but lactose did not. The presence or absence of fat did not significantly affect change in color values.

Discussion

Milk and casein both significantly reduced staining associated with tea exposure. Adding milk to tea may reduce extrinsic enamel stains on teeth.

Clinical Significance

Adding milk to tea may reduce staining but may also affect tea’s health benefits, especially its antioxidant, anticaries, and antibacterial properties. Tea polyphenols interact with and bind to casein, which prevents the tannin from binding to the tooth surface and staining the enamel. Casein also binds to epigallocatechin gallate

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Lee RJ, Bayne A, Tiangco M, et al: Prevention of tea-induced extrinsic tooth stain. Int J Dent Hygiene 12:267-272, 2014

Reprints available from AK Chow, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Dentistry, 7020H, Katz Group Ctr, Univ of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; fax: +1 780 492 7466; e-mail: [email protected]

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