JP2008088095A - Method for suppressing buildup of dental plaque - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for suppressing the buildup of dental plaque, causing little entering of an agent into the body through the mouth, having little risk of the damage on the whole body and the oral mucosa and selectively applicable to a part for suppressing the buildup of dental plaque. <P>SOLUTION: The method for suppressing the buildup of dental plaque comprises the application of a mouthpiece mixed with a powdery inorganic antibacterial agent. The powdery inorganic antibacterial agent to be used in the method is preferably powder of one or more metals selected from silver, copper and zinc, a zeolite supporting ions of one or more metals selected from silver, copper and zinc or crystallized glass having a crystalline lattice partly ion-exchanged with ions of one or more metals selected from silver, copper and zinc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for suppressing adhesion of dental plaque, which causes oral diseases such as caries and periodontal disease, to the tooth surface.

  Representative examples of oral diseases include caries disease (cavities) and periodontal disease (alveolar pyorrhea). These diseases are considered as one type of infection caused by oral bacteria. Prompt removal of plaque is considered important in preventing these diseases. However, the most important thing is not to allow plaque to adhere to the tooth surface.

  To prevent plaque adhesion, organic antibacterial agents such as chlorohexidine, inorganic antibacterial agents such as silver, copper and zinc, and zeolites carrying antibacterial metal ions can be used as toothpastes and mouthwashes. The compounded dental composition is disclosed (for example, refer patent documents 1-5).

  However, dentifrices and mouthwashes often enter the body from the mouth due to the characteristics of the method of use, and there is a risk of accidental ingestion. In addition, since dentifrices and mouthwashes are applied only within the oral cavity for several tens of seconds, it is necessary to use strong antibacterial agents (mainly organic synthetic antibacterial agents) at high concentrations, and in terms of safety to the oral mucosa. There's a problem. Furthermore, since dentifrices and mouthwashes act on a wide range of the entire oral cavity, they affect even resident bacteria that are not involved in oral diseases.

JP-A-5-163125 JP-A-6-122617 JP-A-8-310968 JP-A-9-323936 JP 2006-176416 A

  Therefore, the present invention has a small amount entering the body from the mouth, has no possibility of harming the whole living body and oral mucosa, and can be selectively applied to a place where it is desired to suppress adhesion of plaque. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for suppressing plaque adhesion.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that a powdery inorganic system is used as a base material for a mouthpiece that has been used for the purpose of protecting against trauma (such as fracture of a tooth or fracture of a temporomandibular joint). The present invention was completed by investigating that the above problem could be solved by mixing an antibacterial agent and mounting the mouthpiece in the oral cavity.

  That is, the present invention is a method for suppressing plaque adhesion, comprising mounting a mouthpiece mixed with a powdery inorganic antibacterial agent.

  The method for inhibiting the adhesion of plaque according to the present invention has a small amount of antibacterial agent entering the body from the mouth, has a low risk of harming the whole living body and oral mucosa, and further a place where it is desired to suppress the adhesion of plaque. It is an excellent method capable of selectively applying an antibacterial agent.

  As the mouthpiece base material used in the method of the present invention, a mouth guard or mouthpiece base material conventionally used in the dentistry or sports field can be used. The mouthpiece used in the present invention is made of an elastic material, and a powdered inorganic antibacterial agent is mixed with the elastic material. Examples of the elastic material include a polyolefin-based soft elastic material and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. In addition, a resin-based material that has been used for orthodontic treatment and bruxism treatment in conventional dental treatment can be used as the base material of the mouthpiece. This resin material can be used in any polymerization system such as photopolymerization, heat polymerization, and room temperature polymerization.

  The powdered inorganic antibacterial agent mixed with the mouthpiece is a substance in which an antibacterial metal powder or metal element or metal ion is contained in an inorganic carrier. For example, a metal powder selected from one or more of silver, copper and zinc, a zeolite or a crystal carrying a metal ion selected from one or more of silver, copper and zinc Select one or more of crystallized glass, silver, copper, or zinc, where a part of the lattice is replaced with metal ions selected from one or more of silver, copper, and zinc It is preferable that any one of the phosphate compounds carrying the supported metal ions. In addition, calcium silicate, calcium carbonate, aluminum oxide, activated carbon, titanium oxide, potassium titanate, etc. can be used.

  As zeolite, both natural zeolite and synthetic zeolite can be used. Although not particularly limited, for example, A-type zeolite, X-type zeolite, Y-type zeolite, T-type zeolite, high silica zeolite, sodalite, mordenite, analcime, clinoptilolite, chabasite, erio A knight etc. can be mentioned. Among these, synthetic zeolite having a low impurity mixing rate is preferable.

The crystallized _{glass, (Ba, Sr, Ca)} O- Al 2 O 3 - TiO 2 -SiO 2 based crystallized _{glass, (Ba, Sr, Ca)} O- Al 2 O 3 - SiO 2 based crystallized glass Or, Na ₂ O—K ₂ O—Al ₂ O ₃ —B ₂ O ₃ —SiO ₂ -based crystallized glass can be mentioned, but even other glasses can precipitate crystals by heating. Can be used if present.

  Examples of the phosphate compound include hydroxyapatite, tricalcium phosphate, and fluorine apatite. These calcium phosphate compounds may be used alone or as a mixture.

  The powdered inorganic antibacterial agent is preferably blended in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight in the mouthpiece base material. If it is less than 0.1% by weight, the effect of suppressing the adhesion of plaque is low, and if it is more than 10% by weight, the durability of the mouthpiece is lowered.

  Powdered inorganic antibacterial agents tend to have a lower antibacterial effect than organic antibacterial agents, but the method for inhibiting plaque adhesion according to the present invention takes advantage of the characteristics of a mouthpiece and takes a long time. Then, if necessary, the place where the antibacterial agent is applied can be selected to suppress the adhesion of plaque without causing any harm to the whole living body or the oral mucosa. As a method for selecting a place where an antibacterial agent is to be applied, for example, there is a method using a mouthpiece in which a powdered inorganic antibacterial agent is mixed only in part.

<Example 1>
A synthetic zeolite antibacterial agent (trade name: Zeomic, manufactured by Sinanen Co., Ltd.), which is softened by heating an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer to 120 ° C., and a crystallized glass in which a part of the crystal lattice is replaced with silver ions. An antibacterial agent (trade name: LATP, manufactured by Sumita Optical Glass Co., Ltd.), an antibacterial agent of potassium titanate supporting silver (trade name: Baicom AK, manufactured by Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.) was added in the amounts shown in Table 1, and the mold was added. The sheet was then cooled to prepare a sheet having a size of 200 mm × 200 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. A full-size mouthpiece for the subject's upper and lower jaws was prepared from this sheet according to the usual method, and the effect of suppressing plaque adhesion was confirmed.

<Table 1>

++: Plaque adhesion was not confirmed +: Slight plaque adhesion was confirmed-: Plaque adhesion was confirmed

Claims (2)

  A method for suppressing plaque adhesion, comprising mounting a mouthpiece mixed with a powdery inorganic antibacterial agent.   Powdered inorganic antibacterial agent is a metal powder selected from one or more of silver, copper and zinc, and metal ions selected from one or more of silver, copper and zinc Zeolite supported, or crystallized glass in which a part of the crystal lattice is substituted with metal ions selected from one or more of silver, copper and zinc, one of silver, copper and zinc Alternatively, the method for suppressing plaque adhesion according to claim 1, wherein any one of phosphate compounds carrying metal ions selected from two or more types is used.