Commonly used food preservatives may help prevent cavities by enhancing the action of fluoride, according to a study in rats presented at the International Association of Dental Research meeting in Washington, DC. The preservatives are found in diet soda, frozen foods, juices and other foods.
Many food preservatives act on fluoride, inhibiting "bacteria in plaque from forming acid that causes dental caries," according to Dr. Robert Marquis, of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York who has conducted test-tube studies of preservatives and fluoride.
To determine if the preservative sorbate had a similar effect on the formation of dental cavities in laboratory animals, Dr. William Bowen and colleagues at the University of Rochester fed rats a diet containing fluoride alone or combined with sorbate.
The rats were infected with cavity-causing bacteria and then were given fluoride combined with plain drinking water or water containing 0.1% or 0.3% sorbate.
Rats receiving the combination of fluoride and sorbate showed the lowest number of cavities (0 or 1) as well as the lowest amount of cavity-causing bacteria. The highest number of cavities (16) were seen in animals who got neither the fluoride nor the preservatives.
These findings show that "sorbate is an anti-caries agent that enhances the action of fluoride rather than inhibits it," Marquis told Reuters Health. This suggests that "food preservatives are effective anti-caries agents," he said.
Marquis indicated that future studies are needed "to determine at exactly what level food preservatives are most effective" in fighting cavities.
