Dental plaque

• These treatments have side effects, such as dry mouth, the development of antimicrobial resistance and increased blood pressure.
• But research has indicated that a molecule called nitrate, which is found in leafy green vegetables, has fewer side effects and offers greater benefits for oral health.
• Periodontitis is a more advanced form of gum disease, causing damage to the soft tissues and bones supporting the teeth.

Leafy greens may be the secret

• Leafy greens and root vegetables are bursting with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants – and it’s no secret that a diet consisting of these vegetables is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight, boosting the immune system, and preventing heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
• The multiple health benefits of leafy greens are partly because spinach, lettuce and beetroots are brimming with nitrate, which can be reduced to nitric oxide by nitrate-reducing bacteria inside the mouth.
• However, in the mouth, it helps to prevent the overgrowth of bad bacteria and reduces oral acidity, both of which can cause gum disease and tooth decay.
• Antimicrobial resistance is a global health concern, predicted to cause 10 million deaths yearly by the year 2050.

In contrast, dietary nitrate is more targeted. Nitrate eliminates disease-associated bacteria, reduces oral acidity and creates a balanced oral microbiome. The oral microbiome refers to all the microorganisms in the mouth. Nitrate offers exciting potential as an oral health prebiotic, which can be used to prevent disease onset or limit disease progression.

How many leafy greens for pearly whites?

• As a rule of thumb, a generous helping of spinach, kale or beetroot at mealtimes contains about 6-10 mmol of nitrate and offers immediate health benefits.
• For example, consuming lettuce juice for two weeks reduced gum inflammation and increased healthy bacteria levels in patients with gum disease.

Mia Cousins Burleigh has previously received funding from The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Siobhan Paula Moran does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• NEW YORK, May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Soocas announces the release of its revolutionary dual-action brushing and flossing electric toothbrush, Soocas Neos .
• With flossing and brushing at the core of its functionality, Soocas Neos can cover and clean more areas of the teeth compared to traditional electric toothbrushes.
• The Soocas Neos provides comprehensive flossing and brushing as the core of its functionality with this 2-in-1 cleaning feature.
• The built-in flossing capability allows the Neos to access hard to reach areas with ease, compared to the traditional.

• The Tibetan Plateau forms the major portion of a vast upland area of ice and glaciers that covers some 100,000 square kilometres of Earth’s surface.
• Our research, published today in Science Advances, set out to look more closely at early Tibetan diets.
• Our results show one food in particular may have been crucial to sustained human occupation and expansion across the Tibetan Plateau: milk.

The benefits of not brushing

• Using a new method called palaeoproteomics, scientists can investigate the food proteins that became trapped and preserved in ancient people’s dental plaque.
• Palaeoproteomics allows us to look at types of food, such as milk, that aren’t visible through traditional archaeological approaches, and to identify specific individuals who were consuming them.
• We could see dairy foods were consumed by a wide swathe of Tibetan Plateau society, including adults and children, elites and everyday people.

Pushing beyond the cultivation boundary

• In the southern-central and southeastern valleys, where farmable land was available, we did not recover any dairy proteins from people’s calculus.
• This is a vast area, as less than 1% of the Tibetan Plateau supports crop cultivation.

Dairy-free? Not an option

• Dairying opened up the Tibetan Plateau to the spread and sustained growth of human populations, which ultimately enabled the emergence of substantial cultural complexity.
• In one of Earth’s most inhospitable environments, then, it would appear dairy-free was not an option.

• Nine Historians Each to Receive $300,000, Supporting Critical Research and Cutting-Edge Methodologies
  TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dan David Prize, the largest history prize in the world, today announced its 2023 winners - nine early and midcareer scholars and practitioners, whose work illuminates the past in bold and creative ways.
• Each of the winners - who work in Kenya, Ireland, Denmark, Israel, Canada and the United States - will receive $300,000 (USD) in recognition of their achievements and to support their future endeavors.
• "Our winners represent a new generation of historians," said Ariel David, board member of the Prize and son of the founder.
• Many of the winners we are recognizing today are still in the early stages of their careers, but they have already challenged how we think about history.