NO784085L - TEETH BRUSH. - Google Patents

Description

Tooth care product.

The present invention relates to a caries-preventing dental care agent in powder or tablet form and which is based on lysozyme.

It is known that tooth decay is caused by the breakdown of tooth enamel caused by acids that are formed as a result of the fermentation of carbohydrates contained in the food residues present in the oral cavity and on the surface of the teeth due to the action of bacteria.

The biochemical mechanism of fermentation not only leads to the formation of acids but also to the development of energy which is used for the reproduction of the bacteria, such as e.g. Lactobacillus, Candida albicans and mainly Streptococcus mutans.

Acidity causes demineralization of the tooth so that cavities are formed in which the fermentation process continues until the tooth is destroyed.

There are various forms of dental care products on the market, containing disinfectants or enzyme blocking agents, which are active on the bacterial film that has formed on the tooth enamel so that the film is destroyed or limited in its extent. They are thus active on a small number of factors, such as e.g. microorganisms and enzymes, which create environments favorable for the development of dental caries.

The present invention thus relates to a dentifrice with a caries-preventing antibacterial effect, and the distinctive feature of the dentifrice according to the invention is that it contains lysozyme as an antibacterial component.

Lysozyme is a natural enzyme that is contained in various body secretions and in the extracts from various organs and is able to hydrolyze the murein layer in the walls of the caries-producing cells.

Once the murein layer is weakened, the cells undergo osmolysis and are destroyed in this way.

In the aforementioned dental care agent, lysozyme, due to its dissolving effect on micrococci, eliminates the bacterial growth of mainly Streptococcus mutans which promotes the formation of dental caries.

Lysozyme is not stable in toothpastes or other mixtures based on an aqueous medium and for this reason lysozyme is mixed into dental care products in powder or tablet form, the latter being obtained directly from the powder using stabilization machines, as it is possible to incorporate lysozyme in high dosages required to exhibit an effective bacteriostatic effect.

Dental care products have been produced that contain up to 4% lysozyme.

The compositions were otherwise similar to the commercially available ones and were flavored with thymol.

Mixtures were prepared with lysozyme percentages from 1 to 4%, which were compared with the same mixtures without lysozyme and with a conventional mixture based on sodium N-lauryl sarcosinate (an anti-enzymatic mixture in common use).

The mixtures were the following:

1. Mixture for comparative purposes, non-antienzymatic: 2. Antienzymatic mixture based on sodium N-lauryl sarcosinate: 3. Antibacterial mixture for examination:

A test group of 25 people carried out systematic testing of the mixtures for three weeks. Each person participating in the testing had used the normal mixture for the first week and the caries-preventive mixtures for the following two weeks. Only a group of 5 people continued to use the normal mixture.

The others, in groups of five, used mixtures 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively.

The teeth were brushed three times a day after meals, at 8 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 9 in the evening. One hour

after brushing the teeth and then, at intervals of two hours

Gram-reagent smears were performed on the tooth surfaces to detect the presence of bacterial cells based on the intensity of the

violet color which is characteristic of the gram-positive bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans.

The results of the tests for each group of people are reproduced in the following tables.

It appears from the preceding tables that the methodical use of the lysozyme-containing dentifrice within a short time leads to the almost complete removal of the fermentation microorganisms from the dental film and the possible caries-promoting agents are thus considerably reduced.

Claims (2)

1. Tooth care agent with caries-preventing antibacterial effect, characterized in that it contains lysozyme as an active ingredient. 2. Tooth care product as specified in claim 1, characterized in that it contains lysozyme in an amount of from 1 to 4% by weight.