Dental caries is an extremely prevalent disease nationally and globally. In the UK, an oral health survey in 2018 reported that a quarter of adults attending general dental practices experienced tooth decay, and more than half have experienced gum bleeding. At the same time, it appears that currently receiving professional dental health care whether by national or private services is harder than ever and there has been a boom in oral health care products. Many of these promise aesthetic improvement or better user experience, but with seemingly less innovation in developing novel plaque prevention. Reuterdent aims to stimulate that innovative spirit by incorporating beneficial molecules produced by the human symbiotic bacteria Limosilactobacillus reuteri in an environmentally friendly toothpaste dental tablet.
L. reuteri is a vertebrate symbiotic bacterium that typically inhabits the gastrointestinal tract. Simply, a symbiosis describes a mutually beneficial relationship between two organisms. There are strains of L. reuteri that have co-evolved with us through millions of years and some are even passed down from generation to generation through our mother’s breast milk. A remarkable property was also its ability to produce molecules that can defend us from invasive microorganisms (bacteria, yeast/fungi) and viruses. An example of these protective molecules are reuterins (3-Hydroxypropanal and derivatives) which have received a lot of dedicated attention for their antimicrobial properties. Although, there are various other known and unknown secreted factors which can be attributed to L. reuteri’s ability to prevent disease and plaque forming bacteria from growing. Reuterdent contains L. reuteri derived molecules which may not only play a role in a plaque prevention context, but also influence bioavailability of Reuterdent’s other bioactive ingredients.
Reuterdent is a dental tablet and so functions just as toothpaste once dissolved in your saliva and dispersed by brushing. This is because Symbiontech is also interested in greener process designs. Dental tablets can greatly reduce plastic and are pre-dosed in optimal amounts leading to less waste. Taken together, Reuterdent offers the chance to try a novel toothpaste formulation that has harnessed the bioactive potential emerging from millions of years of co-evolution with less environmental burden. Evolve your dental hygiene with Reuterdent.