Foods and factors that protect against dental caries

Summary Some foods contain factors that protect against dental caries including milk, cheese, unrefined plant foods and tea. Milk and cheese contain calcium, phosphate and casein all of which are anti‐cariogenic. Additionally, cheese is a strong gustatory stimulant to salivary flow – which helps neutralise dental plaque acids, thus preventing dental caries development. Unrefined plant foods contain phosphates and phytate both of which have cariostatic properties and consumption of these foods also causes mechanical stimulation of salivary flow. Some foods, such as chocolate, honey, molasses and liquorice, contain protective factors but nonetheless remain cariogenic because of their high content of sugars. Initial research into the anti‐carries effect of green and black tea extracts have provided encouraging results and further research in this area is awaited.