Comparing the Effect of Chocolate Milk and Plain Milk on Dental Plaque pH

Milk is known as a healthy and nutritious snack, especially for children and adolescence. Development of new processes for the production of milk with a more favorable taste has led to increased consumption of flavored milk (chocolate), specifically in children. Caries formation potential of sweetened flavored milk and plain milk used by children has been the subject of many studies in the past. This study aimed to demonstrate whether chocolate milk can be a good substitute for plain milk regarding dental health or not.
In total, 10 healthy dental students within the age range of 25-35 years were enrolled in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Inclusion criteria were the amount of salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli, saliva flow rate, no active caries in the mouth and no systemic diseases. Dental plaque pH was demonstrated in the interproximal areas between the second premolar and first molar in all four quadrants before and at two, five, 50, 40, 20, 15, 10 and 60 minutes after consumption (keeping in the mouth for two minutes and then swallowing) of three studied substances (e.g., chocolate milk, plain milk and 10% sucrose solution as positive control) via Metrohm microelectrode and digital pH meter. Afterwards, pH curve was illustrated according to the time of each tested product. Differences in maximum pH drops (∆pH) after the consumption of evaluated materials were assessed by repeated measure ANOVA (PPlaque pH had been significantly decreased after the consumption of chocolate milk and 10% sucrose. While this reduction was more observed in the sucrose group, compared to chocolate milk, the latter led to higher decrease of plaque pH.
Not only plain milk did not increase plaque pH more than basic pH at any time period, it significantly increased plaque pH at the majority of time intervals (e.g., 2, 5, 30, 40, 50 and 60) compared to basic plaque pH.