Aritra Laskar¹ , Champak Paul² , B. K. Laskar³

1 Department of Oral Pathology & Microbiology, Maitri College of Dentistry & Research Centre, G. E. Road, Anjora, Durg, Chhattisgarh-491 001, India
2 Department of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Maitri College of Dentistry & Research Centre, G. E. Road, Anjora, Durg, Chhattisgarh-491 001, India
3 Sr Advisory Officer & Principal Scientist, Tea Research Association, Cachar Advisory Centre, Silcuri (Cachar), Assam-799 118, India
Author    Correspondence author
Journal of Tea Science Research, 2017, Vol. 7, No. 5   doi: 10.5376/jtsr.2017.07.0005
Received: 27 Feb., 2017    Accepted: 20 Mar., 2017    Published: 20 Apr., 2017

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Laskar A., Paul C., and Laskar B.K., 2017, Effect of tea on gingivits: a community-based study, Journal of Tea Science Research, 7(5): 34-37 (doi: 10.5376/jtsr.2017.07.0005)

Pharmacological values of tea have been found by medical researchers in many countries. Catechin compounds found in tea impart several health benefits including mitigating dental ailments. However, whether dento-clinical properties of catechins are camouflaged by additive like milk or not has remained unexplored. A survey-based study involving community people suffering from gum disease (gingivitis) has been carried out to understand whether hot water extract of tea (known as brew) without milk has any relevance in reducing gingivitis. The survey reveals a strong negative linear correlation (r= -0.807**) between drinking tea without milk and reduction of gingivitis. The results also reveal that frequency of gingivitis amongst people who drink tea with milk is more (r= 0.696*) as compared to the people who drink tea without milk. Tea made from Tinali 17/1/54 cultivar of Camelia sinensis L. O. Kuntze var, Assamica has been used in the study as this cultivar is ubiquitous in tea growing areas and can produce different categories of black tea – strong CTC tea, mild flavored orthodox tea and milder green tea.

Black tea; Catechin; Gingivitis; Tea brew