The Keep 32 (Teeth) Molecule - Makes Your Teeth Bullet-Proof To Plaque, Cavities, And More

Nobody likes to go to the dentist and let's face it, even if we brush every day several times a day we still get cavities. The problem isn't necessarily brushing but rather the in-between times like when we're sleeping and the most susceptible to cavities if you have sugar floating around in your mouth from drinking tea, cool-aid, or any other sugary (sweet) beverage. I have a habit of keeping something sweet next to my bed so when I get thirsty in the middle of the night I can take a drink- this is a really bad habit actually.

Luckily, there is a great concept coming that has already been proven in the lab (and soon to be tested on human beings for safety which should take 18 months). This time next year you may be able to purchase toothpaste, mouthwash, gums, and yes, even candy like chocolates and sucker candies that contain the tasteless ingredient/molecule currently called "Keep 32". This refers to the 32 teeth present in mouths that have no missing teeth (not including the wisdom teeth).

Scientists, primarily 2 specific scientists, one from Yale and one from The University of Chile, have been working on this for years and figured out the "root" of the problem and thus how to fix it from the source- removing the culprit! 

Jose Cordova of Yale University and Erich Astudillo from the University of Chile hope to get this into every toothpaste, mouthwash, and many, many types of foods we eat all day including candy, in the next 19-20 months (after it's been proven safe).

________________________________________________________

How It Works:

What they've figured out is that a bacteria in our mouth that converts sugars (including fructose and fruits) into lactic acid is the main problem. Without this bacteria (called Streptococcus Mutans or S-Mutant) you could rub sugar on your teeth all day and leave it there and it wouldn't cause a cavity!

The cavity or deterioration of the enamel of your teeth, is caused when this S-Mutant bacteria eat the fructose for energy and metabolize it into an acid that lowers our mouth's PH balance. When this happens the lactic acid causes the calcium phosphate in the tooth enamel to weaken and deteriorate causing tooth decay/cavities. Cavity is a generic term for "hole" it's not the black stuff, the plaque you see that alerts you that you have a cavity- that is actually just present IN the cavity (and mole-ing deeper down).

By figuring out what molecular structure would kill the S-Mutant safely, they have found that you can eliminate cavities and keep your mouth safe from the mutants return for several hours. This is a very cool thing indeed!

You won't have to brush your teeth every two hours to stay safe, the molecule can actually be incorporated into a lot of different things you drink, eat, or candies you suck on. So you can have a supply of the molecule on hand through your toothpaste, mouthwash, food, and drink to keep you safe all day. 

It takes about 60 seconds once introduced in the mouth for the bacterial to fully become obliterated, so chew on that delicious piece of chocolate (with the molecule in it) just a little bit longer and really enjoy it- and know that the sugar in the chocolate won't hurt your teeth!

You can read a more thorough and scientific explanation of how sugar is metabolized into lactic acids/starches here (site pictured below).

Reported in the Science Daily journal, Americans spend an enormous seventy billion dollars on dental care every year.

If you consider the entire world, over 73% of the people int he world have cavities at varying degrees according to Chilean scientist Diario Financiero. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

In 2005 research into how to lower those numbers and to eliminate the infamous cavity problem began by the two aforementioned scientists Jose Cordova and Erich Astudillo (image to the left, couldn't find an image of Jose).

Although the discovery is very exciting and will put the fear of God into dentists everywhere, initial investment interests were almost completely absent.

Companies didn't want to put money into the research and development of the product but once it was shown to work well and the potential illustrated with real numbers, they found several parties overseas were interested in investing in the product or purchasing the patent outright.

When the product goes to market will depend on funding and trials but they are confident this will be successful and on the shelves in products such as Colgate and Proctor and Gamble products. They are also looking into candy manufacturers like Hershey's!

Cordova and Astudillo's discovery isn't new (targeting Streptococcus Mutans or S-Mutant for short) they are the first to push it out there in a big way. Let's hope things go without a hitch- I know I'll be purchasing these products! For now, NovaMin products by Synsodyne and a few other companies licensed to put NovaMin in their toothpaste, will help repair the damage, hopefully soon there will be no damage to fix!

So there you have it. You can currently use NovaMin products to rebuild/recrystallize real enamel and repair your teeth, but soon you won't even need that as the Keep 32 containing products will cut the problem at the source- the bacteria in your mouth that create lactic acid and other starches that lead to lower PH balance and create an environment ripe for deterioration and cavity building (hole building).

When and if this product makes it to market in 18 months or shortly there-after, I will update this article to include resources for where to get them. Be sure to check out the regrowing teeth article as well, it covers some other fantastic technologies coming including regrowing teeth with an implantable (in a crown or clipped to the tooth itself) ultrasound device! 

Good Luck, thanks for reading!

_____________________________________________________________________________