Coffee is a natural ingredient that may be obtained in large
quantities at low cost. Furthermore, the advantage of coffee as an
antibacterial beverage is that it is consumed in a concentrated form
(6–10%) as opposed to various medicinal infusions that have
shown such effect in vitro and are usually consumed at 1–2%
(Bravo, Goya, & Lecumberri, 2007). So, the fact that the coffee derived
extract used in this study exhibited antibacterial activity
against S. mutans cell-growth and against S. mutans biofilm formation
supports the hypothesis that it may be highly beneficial as an
anticariogenic ingredient, when consumed without sucrose addition.
However, in the in vivo situation, S. mutans does not occur
in monoculture, but rather in a complex ecosystem biofilm. As
the in vitro tests employed in this study are essentially preliminary
screenings, further investigation – especially in vivo – should be
performed to verify the effect of regular light roasted C. canephora
and C. arabica extracts and their components in the prevention of
dental caries.