The cariostatic potential of cheese: cooked cheese-containing meals increase plaque calcium concentration

Objective Eating cheese by itself increases plaque calcium concentration - which is probably one mechanism of the well-established action of cheese in reducing experimental caries. The objective of the present study was to de termine whether consumption of cheese as part of a cooked, mixed meal (ie a s it is habitually consumed) is able to increase plaque calcium concentrati on. Design Plaque samples were obtained from 16 adult volunteers before and 5 m inutes after consumption of either a 15 g cube of cheese, one of two cheese -containing test meals, or one of two control meals. Each subject tested ea ch of the four meals on a separate occasion; Plaque calcium concentration w as measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results The test meals increased plaque calcium concentrations to a signifi cantly greater magnitude than the control meals (P < 0.05). A non-significa nt trend was observed towards a larger magnitude of change in plaque calciu m concentration in the 8 subjects with the lowest, compared with the 8 subj ects with the highest baseline concentration. Conclusion The findings suggest that cheese-containing meals increase plaqu e calcium concentration and thus probably protect against dental caries.