Cranberries Effect on Decreasing Caries
Omid MehdipourA team led by oral biologist Hyun (Michel) Koo, D.D.S., Ph.D., at the University of Rochester Medical Center has discovered that the same traits that make cranberry juice a powerful weapon against bladder infections also hold promise for protecting teeth against cavities. Cranberry juice acts like TeflonŽ for teeth, making it difficult for the bacteria that cause cavities to cling to tooth surfaces.
Scientists believe that one of the main ways cranberries prevent urinary tract infections is by inhibiting the adherence of pathogens on the surface of the bladder. Perhaps the same is true in the mouth, where bacteria use adhesion molecules to hold onto teeth.
 Caries reducing cranberries |
Koo's team also found evidence that cranberry juice disrupts the formation of the building block of plaque, known as a glucan. Like a mason using cement to build a wall brick by brick, bacteria use enzymes known as glucosyltransferases to build dental plaque piece by piece, quickly forming a gunky fortress that covers the tooth and gives bacteria a safe haven to munch on sugar, thrive, and churn out acid. Cranberry juice prevents bacteria from forming plaque by inhibiting those enzymes and by stopping additional bacteria from glomming on to the ever-growing goo. Koo is trying to isolate the compounds within the juice that pack an anti-cavity punch. The substances could then be added to toothpaste or mouth rinse directly.
A food scientist turned dentist, Koo became fascinated with research and is an expert on natural substances that can improve oral health. Currently, as an assistant professor in the Eastman Department of Dentistry and a researcher in the Center for Oral Biology, he is focusing on ways to stop the bacteria that ultimately causes cavities. Such research, if successful, would improve the oral health of millions of people worldwide.
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (2002) reported on a preliminary clinical trial using a mouthwash containing cranberry NDM. Saliva samples of the experimental group showed a two order of magnitude reduction in Streptococcus mutans colony forming units compared with the placebo group.
Extracting enzymes and factors from natural sources such as cranberries are always one of the best and most amazing categories in science. The exciting thing is that nobody knows which one may cure the highly researched diseases such as cancer. These answers might be right in front of our very eyes, so researchers just need to keep their minds and eyes open to the possibility of discovering the cure at any point in time.
The effect of cranberries over UTI has been proven since 2002 and there is a lot of evidences to indicate the therapeutic effect of this natural source. As Dr. Koo has mentioned, it could be a guideline to extract the effective substance from cranberries and add it to toothpastes, mouth rinses with the hopes of a great declination of overall caries around the world.
As a dental student, I always think about the invention of a vaccine which could prevent or at least decrease the harmful effects of Streptococcus mutans (which initiates the caries) and other factors such as Lactobacillus (which progresses the caries). Through such an invention one of the most powerful oral infectious diseases (which is dental caries), could be kept under control in addition to the increase in the health of individuals worldwide.
References :
1. http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=947.
2. Inhibitory Effect of high-molecular-weight constituent of cranberry on adhesion of oral bacteria. Critical Reviews in Food Science & Nutrition, 2002. 42(Suppl.): 285-292.
3. Br Dent J. 2005 Dec 10;199(11):698. No abstract available. PMID: 16341166 [PubMed]
4. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=34071