Act Restoring Mouthwash

[Overman]

Linky (http://www.actflouride.com/products_Restoring.html)

Saw the commericial for this quite a bit during football this weekend....Something just doesn't smell right about how they claim that it restores weakened spots in your teeth...does anyone have the science behind this down, and can you explain it to me?

[Pipirr]

This was in their FAQ:
How Does Fluoride Work?
A tooth surface may become weakened by decay. This decay is usually caused by acids released by bacteria found in plaque. Fluoride then absorbs into the weakened tooth surface to rebuild the enamel. Amazingly, the new tooth material created by this rebuilding process is more durable than the original.

It looks like they are just repackaging some basic dental truths, viz. that fluoride restores tooth enamel. They have alcohol free products, so kids can use it without too much bother or being put off by the taste. That may be the gimmick.

The only active ingredient that I can see is fluoride, so, there's nothing new here. I am pretty sure 'restores weakened spots in your teeth' is a supportable statement, if the ingredient responsible is fluoride.

[Overman]

Gosh darn marketing gimmicks.

A rose by any other name is a rose.

[casebro]

I didn't know that fluoride could have that effect. I always thought that it was absorbed into a child's system and helped during initial growth of the tooth. And that fluoride tooth paste acted because small amounts of the fluoride seep down a childs throat while brushing, plus possible absorption into the blood stream through the lining of the mouth.

I always though that the body makes enamel only during the initial growth of the tooth, waaaay under the gum, in childhood.

Hmmm, to 'heal' teeth, fluoride would have to act as a catalyst to make enamel out of whatever is floating around the mouth. hmmmm... teeth 'stem cells' maybe?

Next, will they be telling us that you can 'feed' hair externally too. Maybe if they start putting fluoride into shampoos and rinses?

[Madalch]

I didn't know that fluoride could have that effect. I always thought that it was absorbed into a child's system and helped during initial growth of the tooth. And that fluoride tooth paste acted because small amounts of the fluoride seep down a childs throat while brushing, plus possible absorption into the blood stream through the lining of the mouth.

I always thought it simply replaced hydroxide ions in the surface enamel, transforming Ca5(PO4)3(OH) into Ca5(PO4)3F. Since fluoride is a much weaker base than hydroxide, fluoroapatite is a lot less sensitive to acids than hydroxyapatite, and thus less likely to corrode.

[casebro]

OK, I wiki'ed stannous fluoride. Came up with one important little nugget:

"Used in combination with abrasives that contain calcium, sodium fluoride is ineffective", but stannous flouride is still effective. So maybe the gist of their ad is that they have gone back to the original fluoride, the stannous kind?

[joobz]

No, it's sodium Floride that they use.

from what I can tell (I use act restoring), they added in pluronic surfactant (polyoxamer) which is non ionic. Presumably to help wash the mouth but not interfere electrostactically with the Fluoride.

The 3rd most abundant ingredient is sorbitol, which is a thickener. My guess for this one would be to enhance the viscosity of the wash and maintain a thin coat of wash in your mouth for an extended time. the trick for fluoride penetration is concentration and time. A single rinse of 60 seconds isn't quite enough, but if you can keep the fluoride in contact with your teeth for even an addition 5-10 mins, you greatly increase effectiveness.

[Almisael]

I always thought that flouride simply killed bacteria because it was poisonous, yet wasn't absorbed by the human body.