Guest Author - Deborah Markus

When I was in the fourth grade, I often spent the night at my best friend's house. She was an only child, and her parents gave us the run of the place, often going out for the evening or watching television in their bedroom. On one such enjoyable evening, she decided to stir us up some chocolate milk before bed. She shook her head solemnly at the amount of chocolate mix I insisted on.

"Your teeth are going to be black by the time you're twelve," she scolded. I thought this was an unfair attack on my favorite sweet, and said so.

Turns out I was right.

According to the BBC News, a study carried out in Japan in 2000 found that chocolate is actually better for your teeth than some other sweet foods. Cacao beans have naturally-occurring antibacterial substances; and these may not be able to cancel out the sugar chocolate contains, but they can help to offset its effects.

What's more, this Osaka University study found that the husk of the cacao bean may be extremely effective in fighting tooth decay. The catch is that these husks are routinely disposed of when cacao is processed to make chocolate. But one researcher suggested that an extract from these husks might be used in mouthwash or toothpaste -- or even put into chocolate itself.

More recently, in 2007, Tulane University researchers found that theobromine -- a naturally-occurring alkaloid that, like caffeine, acts as a stimulant on the human nervous system and is found in cacao beans -- may be even better at strengthening and protecting teeth than fluoride.

Of course, there's always a downside. Neither cacao husks nor theobromine taste anything like chocolate, so any product utilizing them won't be a cocoa-flavored dental hygiene treat. Chocolate, of course, tastes wonderful -- but it doesn't contain cacao husks, or enough theobromine to counteract all the sugar that is mixed into chocolate to give it the sweet taste we love.

So I don't get to replace my toothbrush with a chocolate bar, or mix up some of that chocolate milk in lieu of my usual mouthwash. But it's still nice to know that the base ingredient of my favorite food might just be able to help me have healthier teeth someday.