With Halloween just a few days away, your sweet tooth may already be in overdrive. Trick-or-treating is intended for children, but many adults partake as much (or even more) in their candy fixes. If chocolate concoctions are your personal favorites when it comes to sweet treats, you may have to make some adjustments in the future. Cocoa beans are unfortunately becoming rather scarce and expensive these days. Good news for dentists? As your Des Moines, IA dentist, Dr. Stephen Burds can attest, this is not necessarily so. Chocolate can actually play a role in good dental health.
Prices Rising Fast
Angus Kennedy, a former chocolate taster for some of the leading candy manufacturers in the United Kingdom says, “People are prepared to pay 70 pounds ($113) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) for chocolate.” Kennedy predicts a serious shortage of cocoa beans within the next seven years if chocolate companies don’t start making some adjustments in production. A simple bar of generic milk chocolate (at a weight of 3.5 ounces) has increased in cost by 28 percent over the last year. Other ingredients used in chocolate are on the rise as well. Cocoa butter, for example, has risen 63 percent in less than two years.
Chocolate and Dental Health
Chocolate lovers have come to appreciate the good news that dark chocolate contains health-enhancing ingredients that can lessen the symptoms of gum disease. Chocolate, in moderation, can also boast heart health, which relates to the oral-systemic condition. When the foods and beverages we ingest help control the bacterial population in our mouths, less bacteria can enter our bodies through the super-highway of our oral cavity. Unfortunately, chocolate is probably one of the most pleasant consumables that might help us attain better health. If prices continue to follow the rising trend we’re on, however, we may have to go without our chocolate fix until the rich and satisfying treat becomes more financially feasible and easily accessible again.
Visit Your Des Moines, IA Dentist
Contact our office today and make an appointment with Dr. Stephen J. Burds. Conveniently located in downtown Des Moines, we are happy to serve patients who are in need of comprehensive dentistry services.