USA - Additive helps teeth rebuild enamel

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Keeping pearly whites pearly and white could do as much damage as the acidic, sugary foods that turn them that fine shade of ecru.
Tooth enamel is under constant siege whether it’s the Coke with lunch, pickle that came with the sandwich, aggressive attempts to brush teeth clean or chemical whiteners. Two dentists from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in Baltimore City have a solution: A calcium-phosphorus additive that’s being marketed in toothpaste, floss and various dental hygiene products.
Called NovaMin, the additive promotes regrowth of tooth enamel and won creators Gary Hack and Leonard Litkowski their school’s Entrepreneurs of the Year honors.
“It’s an absolutely natural product,” Hack said.
In addition to rebuilding enamel, “what it also does is desensitize the tooth to hot and cold. ... We’re also seeing very good results in reduction of gingival bleeding and gum disease,” he said. While fluoride, which has been in toothpaste and drinking water for more than 50 years, builds a protective shell over teeth, NovaMin rebuilds enamel from the ground up.
“With our current diets being high in fruit juices and other high-acidic foods, we’re seeing a lot of deterioration of enamel,” Hack said.
After a while the surface is filled with microscopic pits, “like Swiss cheese,” he said.
Fruit, yogurt, citrus and soft drinks, taken too often, can cause permanent damage to teeth, according to the Academy of General Dentistry. Called tooth erosion, this damage is more common today than it was even five years ago. As the damage progresses, the underlying material, called dentin, becomes more visible, leaving a yellowed look. Put down the peroxide whitening strip, though, Hack said. “Because it’s rebuilding the enamel, NovaMin also whitens teeth.”
Hack and Litkowski’s work has generated 35 U.S. and international patents, according to the Maryland School of Dentistry.