Eating yogurt and other foods laden¹ with lactic² acid may keep your gums from receding³ and teeth from falling out, Japanese researchers report.

Dr. Yoshihiro Shimazaki and colleagues found that consuming yogurt and lactic acid drinks was significantly associated with better periodontal health.

"But, milk and cheese were not," Shimazaki said.

Periodontal disease is a chronic⁴ bacterial⁵ condition associated with receding gums and tooth loss. Outside of regular brushing and flossing, effective measures to allay⁶ this disease are limited, Shimazaki, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, and colleagues note in the Journal of Periodontology.

Previous research identified a lower occurrence of periodontal disease among people who eat high amounts of dairy products, but did not identify which dairy products were most beneficial, the researchers report.

Shimazaki's team assessed the severity of periodontal disease in 942 men and women, aged 40 to 79 years, and their intake⁷ of milk, cheese, and lactic acid foods.

They found that people with generalized (more advanced) periodontal disease had a lower intake of lactic acid foods than people with localized (less advanced) periodontal disease.

Compared with individuals reporting no lactic acid food intake, those eating 55 grams or more of yogurt (half an 6-ounce carton) or lactic acid drinks a day had significantly fewer markers of severe periodontal disease. The investigators⁸ made allowances for factors such as age, gender⁹, smoking, alcohol intake, frequency of tooth brushing, blood sugar and cholesterol¹⁰ levels.

本研究人员日前称，吃酸奶等富含乳酸的食物能防止牙龈萎缩和牙齿脱落。

喜田岛崎博士及其同事发现，喝酸奶及其它乳酸饮料能显著改善牙周健康。

岛崎博士说：“但牛奶和乳酪没有这种功效。”

牙周病是一种慢性细菌感染性疾病，会引起牙床萎缩和牙齿脱落。日本福冈九州岛大学的岛崎教授及其同事在《牙周病学》期刊中提到，除了勤刷牙和用牙线清洁牙齿外，能够有效缓解这一疾病的方法比较有限。

研究人员在报告中称，此前的研究发现，食用大量乳制品的人患牙周病的几率较低，但未发现哪种乳制品的作用最突出。

岛崎教授领导的研究小组对942名年龄在40岁至79岁之间的男性和女性进行了调查，主要对他们所患牙周炎的严重程度以及摄入的牛奶、乳酪和乳酸类食品量进行了评估。

他们发现，弥漫性重度牙周炎患者所摄入的乳酸类食品量比局限性轻度牙周炎患者少。

与自称从不吃乳酸类食品的人相比，每天摄入酸奶或其它乳酸饮品55克或更多的人有严重牙周病症状的明显较少。研究人员还考虑到了年龄、性别、吸烟、饮酒、刷牙频率、血糖及胆固醇水平等各项因素。