Consuming Cheese After Sugar Challenge Prevents Further Plaque pH Drop

Objectives: We have previously reported that drinking milk after a sugary challenge prevented in vivo dental plaque pH drop.. We hypothesize that consuming dairy products such as cheese has a similar positive effect. This study examined the effect of chewing and consuming cheese on in vivo dental plaque pH after a sugary challenge.
Methods: Methods: Ten adults (18-64 years) participated in this randomized controlled crossover study. Participants refrained from oral hygiene the night before and morning of the testing. A base line in vivo plaque pH was first determined using a touch microelectrode at the interproximal space between the maxillary premolars (or primary molars) on both sides. The participants consumed one of the four combinations of foods during each visit: 20g of dry ready-to-eat sugar added Froot Loops cereal (FL); or FL followed by low fat Swiss cheese (5g; FL/Cheese), two pieces of berry-flavor Haribo^® Gummi-Bears (FL/Gummi-Bears), or non-flavored Gum Base (FL/GB). A 10ml 10% sucrose or sorbitol solution served as controls. Plaque pH was measured at 2 and 5 minutes after FL followed by 2 up to 30 minutes after consuming cheese, Gummi-Bears or GB. There was a two-day washout between visits. SPSS version 28 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: After consuming FL, the plaque pH dropped to 5.53±0.60 and did not fully recover over the testing period. For FL/Gummi-Bears, the lowest plaque pH was reached at 5.70±0.72. Consuming cheese after FL immediately resulted in a pH rise to 6.28±0.79 and remained steady, and was significantly higher than both the FL and FL/Gummi-Bears groups (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Chewing and consuming cheese after a sugary challenge reduced the drop in plaque pH caused by sugar consumption. Cheese, like milk, represents a healthy food/snack and benefits human dental health if sequenced appropriately between or after sugary snacks.