Dairy product helps prevent tooth decay

A natural milk-derived product called "recaldent" (CPP-ACP) helps suppress tooth decay, according to an expert in preventive dentistry.    

Daisuke Inaba of the dentistry department of Iwate Medical University said, "The key to blocking tooth decay is to delicately stimulate re-calcification of teeth."    

He is focusing his attention on recaldent, a substance found in dairy products such as cheese and cow milk.Recaldent, as Inaba explains it, consists of casein, a kind of calcium phosphate and protein, and triggers calcification.     

Research conducted by Eric Reynolds of the University of Melbourne in Australia and others has conclusively verified the effect of CPP-ACP, Inaba said, adding that "tooth decay if caught at the initial stage before cavities develop can be fully reversed."    

Human teeth are constantly repaired by what he described as re-calcification or self-restoration activity in the mouth.    

But at the same time, a process of decalcification, which leads to tooth decay, is also taking place.    

Countless bacteria in the mouth act on food particles caught between the teeth to produce acid, according to Inaba, associate professor of preventive dentistry. The acid causes the calcium and mineral content of tooth enamel to dissolve, he said.