Fighting Cavities With Vino

Filed in archive Wine News on July 2, 2007

The health benefits to drinking wine just seem to keep making headlines. We have all heard that drinking red wine can be good for your heart, but can wine really be good for your teeth? What about all those toothpaste commercials that say red wine can stain the enamel? Well, I saw this Napa Valley Register article, which says that wine may actually help reduce cavities.

Italian researchers bought some red and white wine, then removed the alcohol to prevent it from interfering with the lab tests. They marinated cavity-causing bacteria in the wine, and both wines reacted against the bacteria. They said that red wine may have more antibacterial properties than white.

But before you reach for a pinot noir gargle, keep in mind that the study was done in test tubes. I'd stick with tried-and-true toothpaste for now.