Dairy components in oral health

Abstract

Dental caries (tooth decay) is the localised destruction of tooth tissue initiated by specific dental plaque bacteria that ferment dietary sugar to organic acids, Even though in most developed countries the prevalence of dental caries has decreased through the use of fluorides, the disease remains a major public health problem. A substantial volume of literature now exists demonstrating an anticariogenic effect of dairy products [milk, milk concentrates, powders and cheeses] in laboratory, animal and human in situ caries models. This anticariogenic effect has been attributed to the multiphosphoseryl-containing sequences of casein and their ability to stabilise calcium phosphate. These sequen..