Dentistry Today Watch: Probiotic Gum

Graphic Courtesy of Medgadget

BASF: Probiotic bacteria revolutionize the fight against caries and body odor

In a cooperative venture launched in 2002, BASF Future Business GmbH, Ludwigshafen and OrganoBalance GmbH, Berlin identify probiotic cultures for use in innovative personal care and hygiene products. The lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilli) suitable for this purpose are filtered out from OrganoBalance’s extensive collection of cultures and jointly developed to market. Promising applications for probiotic bacteria include the fight against cariogenic microorganisms, prevention of body odor and regeneration of the skin’s protective microbial flora.

Being responsible for caries, the bacterium Streptococcus mutans persistently colonizes the surface of the teeth, where it converts sugar into aggressive acids that breaks down the enamel. To substantially diminish the risk of caries, it is important to significantly reduce the concentration of harmful bacteria in the oral cavity.

“With Lactobacillus anti-caries we have found an antagonist which effectively binds to the caries germs and prevents them adhering to the surface of the teeth”, emphasizes Dr. Andreas Reindl, Project Leader at BASF Future Business. The antagonistic cultures make these caries-inducing bacteria clump together into larger agglomerates no longer capable of causing damage and are rinsed out of the oral cavity. “The effectiveness has been demonstrated and the first oral hygiene products containing probiotic lactobacilli are scheduled to appear in 2007”, explains Reindl.

Chew tooth decay away – the quest for the “Magic Mouthwash” to eliminate dental disease continues.

We can only hope modern molecular biology has some answers and soon.

Stay tuned……

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