Here’s something to make a New Year’s toast to: alcohol can have a positive effect on teeth, according to a study reported in the Journal of Dental Research®. GASP!

Most people are aware of the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption on dental health: it can result in poor oral hygiene and increased tooth decay and gum disease. More serious consequences include increased risks of oral cancer, bleeding disorders due to liver damage; reduced immunity to infection; and adverse effects on certain tranquilizers, blood pressure medications, aspirin, and barbiturates.

However, researchers found the acetone and ethanol in whiskey to have a strengthening effect on dentin, the mineralized tissue that composes the bulk of the tooth. Technicians tested the strength of elephant dentin – similar to human dentin – prior to the experiment. They then soaked the dentin in 86-proof Scotch whiskey for approximately 24 hours. When they tested the dentin’s strength after soaking, it was significantly more fracture-resistant – an effect fully reversible by adding water to the tooth.

This is interesting, since one would intuit that a tooth would gain flexibility by having water ADDED to it, not taken away. However, the explanation makes sense: the hydrogen-bond-forming solvents in the alcohol replaced water in the teeth, increasing hydrogen and collagen links in the tooth. It is also interesting that only alcohol-drying –increased the tooth’s toughness; vacuum and solvent drying methods had the opposite effect.

What does this mean for the New Year’s Eve partygoer? Honestly, not much, since the average partier doesn’t marinate his teeth in whiskey, and since the effect is shortlived. But it is good to know that, among all the deterrents from making one last go of it in 2007, there is at least one slightly positive effect – or at least a good story to tell your friends.