Eat Dark Chocolate for Healthy Teeth
It’s Valentine’s Week at Fisher Jones Family Dentistry and our tradition is to hand out candy to our patients who pay us a visit. Candy, you say? Well it’s not to create more work for ourselves, that wouldn’t be right. It is actually a way to help you achieve a healthier dentition. That’s because we hand out dark chocolate. It turns out dark chocolate has many properties that help fight tooth decay. The benefit lies in the cocoa bean. And the darker the chocolate, meaning the higher cocoa percentage, the closer the chocolate is to the cocoa bean. Cocoa beans contain tanins, polyphenols and flavenoids, all antioxidants that benefit your teeth and gums.. Tanins, which give chocolate its bitter taste and dark pigments, help prevent decay causing bacteria from adhering to your teeth. Polyphenols limit the effects of bacteria, which helps your breath. Flavenoids help slow the tooth decay process.
So choose the darkest chocolate you can find. We recommend at least 70%. There are many great options today because there are so many small companies making high quality dark chocolate. Purchase some for your Valentine and you are telling them that you love them and you want them to have a healthy smile. And if you get the opportunity, stop into the office and we will be happy to send a little chocolate love your way!
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