How Your Saliva and Our Tablets Partner to Protect Your Smile

Summary: Toothpaste and mouthwash tablets are gaining ground among eco-conscious consumers looking for ways to reduce plastic waste. They work just as well as their conventional counterparts by combining active ingredients with human saliva. It is a perfect combination.

More than 1.5 billion plastic toothpaste tubes end up in landfills every year. Hundreds of millions of heavy plastic mouthwash bottles join them. But all this plastic waste is really unnecessary. Here is the thing: traditional oral care products consist mostly of water – hence the need for plastic tubes and bottles. All this plastic packaging requires excessive fossil-fuel shipping that could be significantly reduced with another model.

That model is the dry tablet. Manufacturers can compact all important ingredients in toothpaste and liquid mouthwash into a dry tablet without impeding a product's performance. That is just one reason we have chosen to manufacture toothpaste and mouthwash tablets.

As more eco-conscious consumers switch to plastic-free alternatives, they are asking us whether our products work as well as their conventional counterparts. Customers want to know how dry tablets actually clean the teeth and freshen the breath. They want to know if tablets hold up in the real world.

The Science of 'Chew and Foam'

Let us make one thing clear: mouthwash and toothpaste tablets are every bit as effective as the competition. From a cleaning and freshening aspect, our customers lose nothing by making the switch from tubed toothpaste and liquid mouthwash to our concentrated tablets.

As for the effectiveness of a mouthwash or toothpaste tablet, it is rooted in the science of 'chew and foam'. Our tablets interact with your saliva to do some amazing things. As you chew a tablet (please do not swallow), it is broken down into fine particles. These particles mix with your saliva to generate a rapid enzymatic and physical reaction:

• Rapid Hydration – Your saliva is a natural solvent. It instantly rehydrates the dormant and dry ingredients in one of our tablets. Your mouth is flooded with mild abrasives, remineralizing agents, and effervescent compounds even before you touch your toothbrush.
  
  

• Lathering – As you chew the tablet and it moves around your mouth, salivary proteins attach themselves to the active ingredients. The result is smooth, gentle foam. You do not need the harsh synthetic surfactants that conventional products rely on. All you need to clean your mouth is a little bit of foam.
  
  

• Remineralization – The remineralizing agents in mouthwash and toothpaste tablets (we use nano-hydroxyapatite) are released by saliva in an activated and unbound state. They immediately get to work to improve tooth surface enamel.
  
  

This entire reaction happens quickly. When using toothpaste tablets, you grab your brush and clean as normal. With mouthwash tablets, you sip a little water and then swish the whole mixture around in your mouth. Spit it out and you are done.

Saliva vs. Tap Water: Which Is Better?

Saliva's nature as a bodily fluid might lead you to believe that it doesn't do as good a job as straight tap water for cleaning your teeth. And in fact, we have had customers ask if it would be better to dissolve a toothpaste tablet in a bit of water before brushing. In a word, no.

Saliva is very different from water. There is water in it, but there is also:

• Natural bicarbonate and phosphate buffers.

• Calcium and phosphate ions.

• Mucins (they help active ingredients stick to tooth enamel)

• Natural immune proteins like IgA.
  
  

Saliva outperforms straight tap water in terms of oral care. That should be no surprise, given the fact that your body manufactures saliva specifically for that purpose. Here are three things to consider if you still think water is better:

1. Natural Acid Neutralization

Oral bacteria are known to produce acids that effectively reduce the pH in your mouth. This is not good for enamel inasmuch as its minerals are more likely to dissolve when the pH is low. But because saliva contains bicarbonate and phosphate buffers, it helps to boost the pH. So when a toothpaste tablet dissolves in saliva, the natural buffers partner with the tablet's ingredients to get rid of enamel-eating acids.

2. Film Formation

Remineralizing agents – like nano-hydroxyapatite and fluoride – work better when they have more time to seal the micro-fissures and dentin tubules on the surface of the teeth. Where water rapidly flushes away these agents, saliva combines with other ingredients in the tablets to form a protective film. Remineralizing agents stay in place longer. They are able to do more work as you brush your teeth or rinse with mouthwash.

3. Calcium and Phosphate

Both nano-hydroxyapatite and fluoride need a combination of calcium and phosphate to help them rebuild enamel. Saliva naturally contains both substances in spades. So activating a toothpaste or mouthwash tablet with saliva creates the ideal chemical environment for enamel repair.

Head-to-Head Competition

It has been our experience that the biggest hesitation shoppers have about mouthwash and toothpaste tablets is the fear that making the eco-conscious choice comes with the trade-off of reduced oral health. Know this: a well-formulated tablet will perform just as well as traditional toothpaste or liquid mouthwash.

High-quality toothpaste tablets:

• Clean the teeth and remove plaque.

• Re-mineralize and protect against cavities.

• Clean and protect with no harsh chemical preservatives.

High-quality mouthwash tablets:

• Efficiently freshen breath.

• Clean without the use of drying alcohol.

• Promote a balanced, healthy oral microbiome.
  
  

In both cases, tablet-based products do just as well because water added at the factory is not necessary. Another benefit of oral care products in tablet form is the lack of preservatives. All you get in a tablet are the active ingredients your mouth needs for clean teeth and fresh breath.

Toothpaste and mouthwash tablets work by combining with your saliva to create the perfect mixture of compounds and active ingredients. And because compact tablets are smaller and denser, we can ship them with no need for so much packaging. Less fuel is burned and less plastic ends up in the landfill. We consider this a big win.

FAQs

What is saliva's role in activating toothpaste and mouthwash tablets?

Saliva is the natural medium that hydrates and dissolves tablets. It also activates the tablet's ingredients and offers its own critical substances to help those ingredients perform as expected.

Can I dissolve a toothpaste tablet in water rather than chewing it?

You can, but the resulting paste will not work as well. Water flushes away active ingredients, while saliva actually works with them to clean your mouth.

Do tablet-based products contain preservatives and stabilizers?

We can only speak for our brand: no. EcoFam toothpaste and mouthwash tablets contain no harsh preservatives or stabilizers. They do not need to because the lack of water naturally prevents microbial growth.

Do your tablets contain fluoride?

No, we prefer to use nano-hydroxyapatite as a remineralizing agent. It is a biocompatible form of calcium phosphate that makes up approximately 97% of the natural tooth enamel in a person's mouth.

What is the biggest difference between mouthwash tablets and liquid mouthwash?

In a word, water. Approximately 90% of a traditional liquid mouthwash is water. We remove the water and pack all the essential ingredients into a small tablet.