A new toothpaste ingredient which replaces lost miners from tooth enamel, in the process hardening teeth, has been developed and will feature in commercial toothpastes before the end of the year.
And that, right there, is the catch – the technology isn’t yet available in the United Kingdom, so it’s likely to be a while before we on the other side of the world have access to it.
The ingredient, called BioMinF, provides new tooth repair technology that prevents decay and treats sensitivity while the user sleeps. It should bring relief to millions of people the world over who are prone to decay and sensitivity.
In the UK alone, it is estimated that 13.5 million people suffer sensitivity or decay, Science Daily reports.
Toothpastes containing BioMinF will slowly release calcium, phosphate and fluoride ions over 8-12 hours to form a fluorapatite mineral, which rebuilds, strengthens and protects tooth structure, meaning essentially that it works overnight.
The University of London’s chair of dental physical sciences at Queen Mary, Professor Robert Hill – who led the team in developing BioMin, said using remineralising toothpaste makes teeth so much more resistant to attack from acidic drinks like juice and soft drink.
“It is also much more effective than conventional toothpastes where the active ingredients, such as soluble fluoride, are washed away and become ineffective less than two hours after brushing,” Professor Hill said.
“The technology behind BioMin is not however exclusively designed for toothpastes … It can also be incorporated in other professionally applied dental products such as cleaning and polishing pastes, varnishes and remineralising filling materials.”
“We are in the process of establishing licencing agreements with toothpaste and dental materials manufacturers around the world.”
A fluoride free version of BioMin is also being developed for individuals who do not want or need fluoride toothpaste.
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