Mints that Fight Cavities? It’s Not too Good to be True.

There’s a lot of sugar being consumed in these days.   For years those of us in the dental field have been telling our patients to stay away from sugar because it’s cavity causing.   For a while that seemed to work.   In the past 40 years we saw decreases in tooth decay in children. But in the last eight years that trend has reversed itself and decay in kids has jumped 28 percent.

Why? Probably too much sugary processed food and soft drinks and not enough brushing.

What’s the best cavity fighter? Saliva. That’s right. Saliva helps teeth neutralize the acidity that comes from eating food. Stony Brook University oral biologist Israel Kleinberg, is a scientist who mixes dentistry and biochemistry, and he’s credited with figuring out how saliva’s chemistry helps teeth neutralize acidity in the mouth. 

He’s the developer of the cavity-fighting mint. The fluoride free mint neutralizes saliva and protects the minerals in tooth enamel.   Initial studies show that children who took two mints a day for a year had 68 percent fewer cavities in their molars than kids who didn’t.

How does it work?   The mints contain Cavistat, a cavity-fighting agent that introduces arginine – an amino acid – into the mouth.   As bacteria in the mouth break down the arginine neutralizes the sugars in food, helping prevent tooth damage. Cavistat also includes other compounds that help keep the minerals in teeth from dissolving. 

A couple of mints a day sounds like a pretty good way to get kids to help protect their teeth. Of course you’ll want to make sure that your kids don’t depend on mints alone.   They’ll still need good dental care and vigilant home care.

Oral health care is important for everyone, but especially if you have diabetes or prediabetes. Good dental care from a dentist who understands the two-way relationship between gum disease and diabetes can help you lower your blood sugar. If you’d like to find a dentist in your area who understands how treating your oral health can improve your diabetes control, click here to locate a DentistryforDiabetics^SM dentist in your region.