We here at Smile By Design are no strangers to the tradition of going out and grabbing a beer after a long day of work. We love heading over to Steins Beer Garden & Restaurant over at 895 Villa Street. Most of you must be gasping in shock right about now at the very idea that their dentist is talking about drinking beer. Well, it turns out that we have no problem advocating beer drinking as the hops used to make most beers can actually have a positive effect on your oral health. Today, Dr. Donian Shen is blogging from Mountain View, CA to talk about the history of hops and exactly how it can help you keep your mouth healthy.
Hop Your Way to a Healthier Smile
Hops hasn’t always been as popular in the brewing industry as it is today. In fact, it wasn’t even until the colonial period of American history when hops stopped being considered nothing more than a weed. During this period of time, a majority of the beer being drunk was imported from England. However, merchants discovered that a lot of the stock they were bringing over was spoiling during the long trip across the ocean. Luckily, they discovered that hops could actually stop bacteria from forming in their beer, keeping it fresh the entire journey.
A lot has changed in the brewing business since the colonial period; so why then is hops still seeing frequent use? It just so happens that hops does a lot of interesting things to beer. For instance, some strands of hops can affect the bitterness of beer, some strands can affect the aroma of beer, and some strands can even do both of these things at the same time. These factors help keep hops relevant in today’s brewing industry.
But what is it about hops that can help our oral health? Hops happens to be full of a group of natural forming chemicals called polyphenols. We want to consume polyphenols because they have proven effective at preventing oral cancer, reversing gum disease, and stopping plaque from building up on our teeth. One polyphenol in particular, xanthohumol, has proven able to kill viruses and prevent bacteria from sticking to our teeth. Polyphenols work to prevent the conditions that can lead up to tooth decay and missing teeth.
Call and Schedule a Consultation in Mountain View, CA
Like with most substances, drinking beer in moderation is unlikely to harm you and can actually even be a benefit to your oral health. However, drinking beer alone isn’t enough to keep you free of tooth decay and gum disease and you may still find yourself facing a missing tooth. Should this occur, we highly recommend you replace any missing teeth with dental implants. If you would like to learn more about the positive effects that can come with hops or about treatment with dental implants, we encourage you to contact us and schedule a no-obligation consultation with dental implant provider, Dr. Donian Shen, today.
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