Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Chewing Gum Mass, Process for Preparing Same, and Use
This invention is directed to a chewing gum mass, a pro- -
cess for its preparation, and a use.
It is known to employ fluorine compounds in dental hy-
giene agents such as toothpastes, mouthwashs and oral gels for
the caries prophylaxis.
For this reason, drinking water is already being fluo-
rinated in some European countries. Furthermore, in order to
maintain healthy and resistant tooth enamel, sufficient supply
of calcium ions is required. Therefore, these are con~ained in
dental hygiene agents generally in the form of calcium or
sodium phosphates.
However, efficient caries prophylaxis is possible only
with periodical cleaning of teeth using dental hygiene agents,
especially after meals. Although the necessity of periodical
tooth-cleaning is generally known, caries meanwhile has become
a widespread disease which people of any age are suffering
from.
This demonstrates that dental care frequently i9 ignored.
Particularly during daytime, meals are taken without subse-
quent cleaning of teeth. For working people it appears to be
troublesome always to carry along toothbrush and toothpaste.
Therefore, during the daytime, there is need for a simple,
readily transportable dental care supplement.
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It is known that chewing gum can be used for dental care.
Such chewing gum masses, as are described in DE 32 13 284, in
addition to common ingredients of chewing gum mass contain
fluorides and calcium phosphate as additional ingredients
having dental care properties. Hitherto, sorbitol was general-
ly used as sugar substitute in chewing gum mass.
Furthermore, it is known from WO 85/04098 that soluble
potassium salts have an advantageous effect to hyper-sensitive
teeth.
The present invention provides an improvement of such a
chewing gum mass for dental care. Indeed, it was discovered
that the su~ar substitute xylitol which is recovered from
bark, is effective in chewing gum towards caries, reduces
plaque formation, and supports remineralization of tooth
enamel.
Thus, the technical problem of the invention was the
further development of hitherto known chewing gum masses for
dental care.
This technical problem is solved as described in claim 1.
The chewing gum mass contains from 0.01 to 5% by weight
of a water-soluble potassium salt, potassium chloride and po-
tassium hydrogencarbonatè being particularly preferred. In
addition, phosphate, preferably tricalcium phosphate and/or
sodium phosphate in amounts of from 1 to 5% by weight are con-
tained. As sugar substitute, xylitol or xylitol and sorbitol
are used in amounts of at least S0% by weight.
In addition, ingredients common in chewing gum masses are
contained. In particular, fluoride may also be admixed.
In a preferred embodiment, the chewing gum mass of the
invention contains from 1 to 10% by weight of strontium chlo-
- , . . . .
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ride and/or strontium acetate. The strontium compounds may
also be used instead of water-soluble potassium salts.
The chewing gum masses of the invention are prepared by
mixing the individual components in a common mixer. They are
particularly suitable for use as dental hygiene agents.
By virtue of an embodiment, the invention is described in
more detail below.
Embodiment
A chewing gum mass having the following composition
(figures are in % by weight) is prepared by usual mixing and
subsequent homogenizing:
Chewing gum mass 38.97
Sugar substitutes
Sorbitol 26.18
Xylitol 26.58
Sweetener 0.74
Flavoring agents 1.48
Thickener 0.92
Surface treating agent 0.09
Active ingredients
Potassium chloride 0.85
Sodium monofluorophosphate 0.04
Tricalcium phosphate 2.98
