Has the MAGIC Mouthwash to Fight Tooth Decay Arrived?

Perhaps and the research looks promising.

A mouthwash developed by a microbiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry has been shown to be highly successful in targeting the Streptococcus mutans bacteria, the principal cause of tooth decay and caries.

In a clinical study, 12 subjects who rinsed just one time with the experimental mouthwash experienced a nearly complete elimination of the S. mutans bacteria over the entire four-day testing period (Caries Research, November 2011, Vol. 45:5, pp. 415-428).

This new mouthwash is the product of nearly a decade of research conducted by Wenyuan Shi, PhD, chair of the oral biology section at the UCLA School of Dentistry. Shi developed a new antimicrobial technology called STAMP (specifically targeted antimicrobial peptides) with support from Colgate-Palmolive and C3-Jian, a company he founded around patent rights he developed at UCLA (the patents were exclusively licensed by UCLA to C3-Jian). The mouthwash uses a STAMP known as C16G2.

The STAMP C16G2 investigational drug, tested in the clinical study, acts as a sort of "smart bomb," eliminating only the harmful bacteria and remaining effective for an extended period, the university noted in a press release.

More research will begin early next year.

If the Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-tooth decay drug, it would be the first anti-caries drug approved since fluoride was over 60 years ago.

Let's hope the drug proves to be promising. Can you imagine, a magic mouthwash to eliminate or limit tooth decay!