After six months, the scientists found an increase in gingival inflammation in the group that had not changed toothbrushes. The participants in the other group showed a better overall state of oral hygiene at any time in the test phase than at the beginning of the study, particularly concerning plaque.

“The results of the study are of significant relevance to oral health in Germany,” said Dr Dirk Ziebholz, research associate at the Department of Preventive Dentistry, Periodontology and Cariology at the University of Göttingen and leader of the study. “Gingivitis can lead to other problems such as periodontitis."

According to the GfK Group, a German market research company, Germans bought an average of 2.5 toothbrushes each in 2010. However, the recommended amount is four. Families in particular tend to change their toothbrushes only rarely (2.3 toothbrushes per year). With 4.5 toothbrushes, single professionals change their toothbrush even more frequently than every three months.

Most Germans change their toothbrush when the bristles are worn-out (70 per cent) or when they are concerned that their toothbrush may no longer be hygienic (66 per cent), according to GfK.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Best, a brand of GlaxoSmithKline.

They concluded that taste perception could be used as a future diagnostic tool to identify children at risk of developing dental caries at an early age. “Tasters or sweet dislikers might avoid sweet food because their oral sensations are too intense, thus making tasters less prone to decay,” they stated in the paper.

Besides testing the perception of taste through questionnaires, the researchers observed the facial expressions of the children tested when exposed to the drug.

PROP, which is used in the treatment of Graves’ disease, among other thyroid diseases, is perceived as bitter tasting by the majority of people. However, studies have suggested that one out of three is insensitive to the compound. The ability to taste the drug is controlled by a specific gene that functions as a taste receptor.

First approved in the late 1940s, PROP is currently classified as a Pregnancy Category D drug by the US FDA and, therefore, its use is limited. Reported side-effects include increased risk of agranulocytosis and liver damage, including complete renal failure.

According to figures from Yale University, five to ten children die every year from taking PROP

Scientists at New Castle University in the United Kingdom have isolated an enzyme from the marine bacterium bacillus licheniformis. It has been determined that this seaweed cuts through plaque and cleans the hard-to-reach dental areas.

This bacterial enzyme is generally used to clean the hulls of ships. This information, however, may provide an alternative method for teeth scaling that removes plaque and tartar buildup in the area between the teeth and gumline. Regular brushing can’t always account for this.

While conducting this study, researchers learned that the biofilm created by the bacteria for the adhesion makes it immune to basic oral health treatment. But when the bacterium exits the bacterial colony, it gives off an enzyme that breaks down the external DNA and biofilm. There could soon be various dental products with this enzyme, including toothpaste, mouthwash, and other products.

More research is necessary on this seaweed enzyme. But if it truly does destroy the plaque that contains bacteria, it will soon become widely used.

Market Opportunity

Dental diseases are the most prevalent chronic infectious diseases in the world, affecting up to 90% of schoolchildren and the vast majority of adults. Annual expenditures on the treatment of dental caries in the U.S. are estimated to be $40 billion a year according to the Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Data Resource Center. Tooth decay is characterized by the demineralization of enamel and dentin, eventually resulting in the destruction of the teeth. Dietary sugar is often misperceived as the cause of tooth decay; however, the immediate cause of tooth decay is lactic acid produced by microorganisms that metabolize sugar on the surface of the teeth. Studies suggest that of the approximately 700 oral microorganisms, S. mutans , a bacterium found in virtually all humans, is the principal causative agent in the development of tooth decay. Residing within dental plaque on the surface of teeth, S. mutans derives energy from carbohydrate metabolism as it converts dietary sugar to lactic acid which, in turn, promotes demineralization in enamel and dentin, eventually resulting in a cavity. The rate at which mineral is lost depends on several factors, most importantly the frequency and amount of sugar that is consumed.

Fluoride is used to reduce the effect of lactic acid-based demineralization of enamel and dentin. Despite the widespread use of fluoride in public water systems, toothpastes, dental treatments and sealants, and antiseptic mouth rinses, over 50% of 5-to-9-year-olds and almost 80% of 17-year-olds in the United States have at least one cavity or filling, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. In addition to non-compliance with the behavioral guidelines of the American Dental Association such as routine brushing and flossing, there are several factors that are likely to increase the incidence and frequency of tooth decay, including increasing consumption of both dietary sugar and bottled water. Bottled water generally does not contain fluoride, and thus does not impart any of the protective effects of fluoridated water from public systems. In 2008, U.S. consumers drank more bottled water than any other alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, with the exception of carbonated soft drinks, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation.

 replacement therapy technology is based on the creation of a genetically altered strain of S. mutans, called SMaRT, which does not produce lactic acid. Our SMaRT strain is engineered to have a selective colonization advantage over native S. mutans strains in that SMaRT produces minute amounts of a lantibiotic that kills off the native strains but leaves the SMaRT strain unharmed. Thus SMaRT Replacement Therapy can permanently replace native lactic acid-producing strains of S. mutans in the oral cavity, thereby potentially providing lifelong protection against the primary cause of tooth decay. The SMaRT strain has been extensively and successfully tested for safety and efficacy in laboratory and animal models.

SMaRT Replacement Therapy is designed to be applied topically to the teeth by a dentist, pediatrician or primary care physician during a routine office visit. A suspension of the SMaRT strain is administered using a cotton-tipped swab during a single five-minute, pain-free treatment. Following treatment, the SMaRT strain should displace the native, decay-causing S. mutans strains over a six to twelve month period and permanently occupy the niche on the tooth surfaces normally occupied by native S. mutans.

Tooth decay is a largely preventable disease through implementation of an appropriate oral care hygiene program including brushing, flossing, irrigation, sealants and antiseptic mouth rinses. Nevertheless, tooth decay remains the most common chronic infectious disease in the world, which indicates that the lack of patient compliance with an overall oral care regimen remains a critical issue in tooth decay prevention. We believe that SMaRT Replacement Therapy addresses the issue of patient compliance by requiring only a one-time, five-minute treatment for the potential lifelong prevention of tooth decay.

The SMaRT strain has been extensively and successfully tested in the laboratory as well as in animal models , and has demonstrated the following:

 No lactic acid creation under any cultivation conditions tested;

 Dramatically reduced ability to cause tooth decay;

 Genetic stability as demonstrated in mixed culture and biofilm studies and in rodent model studies;

 Production of a level of MU1140 that is comparable to its wild-type parent strain, which was previously shown to readily and persistently colonize the human oral cavity;

 Aggressive displacement of native, decay-causing strains of S. mutans and preemptive colonization of its niche on the teeth of laboratory rats.

In addition, during preclinical and early-stage clinical testing of our SMaRT Replacement Therapy, we observed the following:

 No adverse side effects in either acute or chronic testing in rodent models;

 Colonization of the treated subjects following a five-minute application of SMaRT Replacement Therapy in our first Phase 1 study using the attenuated strain;

 No adverse side effects during our first Phase 1 study.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing methods for producing the SMaRT strain of S. mutans are standard Good Manufacturing Practice, or GMP, fermentation techniques. These techniques involve culturing bacteria in large vessels and harvesting them at saturation by centrifugation or filtration. The cells are then freeze dried or suspended in a pharmaceutical medium appropriate for application in the human oral cavity. These manufacturing methods are commonplace and readily available within the pharmaceutical industry. A single dose of our SMaRT Replacement Therapy contains approximately 10 billion S. mutans cells. The SMaRT strain grows readily in a variety of cultivation media and under a variety of common growth conditions including both aerobic and anaerobic incubations. The SMaRT strain can also utilize various carbon and nitrogen sources and is highly acid tolerant. There is no significant limitation to the manufacturing scale of our SMaRT strain other than the size of the containment vessel. For our first Phase 1 clinical trial, we engaged a contract manufacturer to produce an attenuated version our SMaRT strain, using a standard operating procedure provided by us that we believe is readily transferable to outside contract manufacturers with fermentation capabilities

The team from the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland tested the antibacterial action of coconut oil in its natural state and coconut oil that had been treated with enzymes, in a process similar to digestion. The oils were tested against strains of Streptococcus bacteria which are common inhabitants of the mouth. They found that enzyme-modified coconut oil strongly inhibited the growth of most strains of Streptococcus bacteria including Streptococcus mutans — an acid-producing bacterium that is a major cause of tooth decay.
Many previous studies have shown that partially digested foodstuffs are active against micro-organisms. Earlier work on enzyme-modified milk showed that it was able to reduce the binding of S. mutans to tooth enamel, which prompted the group to investigate the effect of other enzyme-modified foods on bacteria.
Further work will examine how coconut oil interacts with Streptococcus bacteria at the molecular level and which other strains of harmful bacteria and yeasts it is active against. Additional testing by the group at the Athlone Institute of Technology found that enzyme-modified coconut oil was also harmful to the yeast Candida albicans that can cause thrush.
The researchers suggest that enzyme-modified coconut oil has potential as a marketable antimicrobial which could be of particular interest to the oral healthcare industry. Dr Damien Brady who is leading the research said, "Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60-90% of children and the majority of adults in industrialized countries. Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations. Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection."
The work also contributes to our understanding of antibacterial activity in the human gut. "Our data suggests that products of human digestion show antimicrobial activity. This could have implications for how bacteria colonize the cells lining the digestive tract and for overall gut health," explained Dr Brady. "Our research has shown that digested milk protein not only reduced the adherence of harmful bacteria to human intestinal cells but also prevented some of them from gaining entrance into the cell. We are currently researching coconut oil and other enzyme-modified foodstuffs to identify how they interfere with the way bacteria cause illness and disease," he said.

The Advertising Standards Authority claimed the McDonald’s drink Fruitizz can be part of the five-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables. The five-a-day portions of fruits and vegetables is a program that encourages healthy and drinking for children.

This ruling comes in spite of the fact that the drink contains six teaspoons of sugar.

The drink comprises fruit juice concentrate, fizzy water, natural flavorings and potassium sorbate.

A serving size of 250 mL has roughly 100 calories and 25 g of sugar. These levels of sugar stem from the amount of fruit juice content. Still, these levels did not nullify its ability to be considered healthy, according to the authority that makes these rulings.

This issue was examined after a British commercial mentioned the drink’s health benefits.

The ruling calls into question the standards used to determine a food or beverage’s health value.

Based on various studies, sugary drinks have been determined to cause tooth decay and erosion. There are also various other problems that can result from sugary drinks.

Still, based on the health standards for the five-a-day guidance in the United Kingdom, this drink manages to meet the requirements.

A group of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Halle, Germany recently conducted a study on the subject.

The cleaning particles in toothpaste were examined. These are the particles utilized to mechanically remove dental plaque. If the toothpaste is too abrasive, the tooth enamel can be damaged over time. The damage can be even more pronounced in the dentin.

The abrasive impact of a certain toothpaste on the dentin depends on the hardness level and the quantity and size of the abrasive additives. The abrasiveness was measured on a scale from 30 to 200. The values were assigned after the testers brushed over radioactively marked dentin samples.

The method used in this study differed from the traditional radiotracer system that’s used to determine the abrasiveness of toothpaste.

Human teeth were also part of this study. To achieve the results, toothpaste was diluted with water and saliva to create a solution that corresponded to the mixture of toothpaste and saliva. The friction and wear tests were conducted with a single bristle. An advanced machine was then used to carry out the tests.

The findings from the survey went into intricate details. The results were able to explain the various geometries of toothbrush filaments and how they reacted with toothpaste based on numerous factors.