Raisins - Do They Really Cause Tooth Decay?
Author: Victoria Aly
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
Research showing cariogenic raisins is outdated and has not even been tested on humans.
In recent decades, raisins have gained the unpleasant reputation of cariogen - a food whose consumption leads to the appearance of dental caries. This harms not only their image, but also most dried fruits.
Studies announcing the cariogenic potential of raisins have been performed mainly on animal models, such as rats ( Caries Res 1990; issue 24, pp. 344-355 is the most popular study). Health authorities in many countries still cite these studies in their legislation and recommendations.
More recent studies ( Journal of Food Science , 2013, issue 78) conducted with humans, not rodents, show different results, indicating a greatly exaggerated role of raisins in tooth decay.
The formation of caries depends on three factors: low pH or high acidity in the mouth, adhesion of food particles to the teeth and the behavior of the bacterial biofilm (dental plaque).
In an experiment, scientists gave volunteers to make a splash for 1 minute with dilute aqueous-sugar solution (10%). Within five minutes, the pH levels in the mouth dropped dramatically from a neutral level of about 7 to an acidic pH level of 5.2 - plaque bacteria actively assimilated sugar as a food source and began to excrete various types of acids as a waste product.
In other volunteers with a measured neutral pH of the mouth, the experiment was repeated, but with a one-minute chew of unsweetened raisins. This did not result in the release of so many acids, and the pH dropped from about 7 to 6.3. Although the carbohydrate profile of raisins consisted of nearly 68% sugars (6.84 g per 10 g raisins), they were less acidogenic (leading to the release of acids from the plaque biofilm) than a 10% aqueous solution of pure sugar.
In addition, they stick to the teeth much less than pasta, biscuits, crackers, potato chips. This is due to the content of phytochemicals in raisins, which prevent or severely prevent the adhesion (sticking) of chewed particles to dental plaque - they are washed away by saliva much faster and bacteria can not extract much sugar from them.
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