Dr Heff's Remarkable Mints
The mints have been developed by two practising dentists to help keep your teeth clean and fresh during the day.
In fact, not only do they help protect teeth, they can actually help repair them as well.
Tooth decay is caused by the acid-producing bacteria found in plaque, which is a sticky biofilm that infests the surface of your teeth. The acid produced by this harmful bacteria strips away at the building blocks of your tooth: calcium and phosphate. This process is called  demineralisation.
The bacteria in plaque also produce enzymes called collagenases that eat away the collagen scaffold of the dentine that makes up the deeper layers of your tooth. The enzymes eat away at the root of your tooth if your gum has receded, which typically occurs in older age or as a result of gum disease.
These harmful enzymes produced by the bacteria in plaque cause structural damage to your tooth that cannot be repaired (except by a dentist's filling, which of course is never as good as your original tooth).
The good news is that in the early stages of tooth decay, in which the collagen scaffold has not been damaged, the calcium and phosphate 'building blocks' can be restored to the tooth, repairing the damage. This process is called  remineralisation. Remineralisation means that, in its early stages, the process of tooth decay is reversible.
Our mints help the process of remineralisation in two ways. First, by reducing acidity levels in the mouth, thereby allowing calcium and phosphate to help repair the damage done by tooth decay. Second, by preserving the collagen scaffold that provides the structure around which remineralisation occurs.
Demineralisation starts to occur when the acid produced by bacteria in the mouth increases acidity levels around the tooth to pH 5 or below. At this level of acidity, or pH, the calcium and phosphate 'building blocks' start to be stripped out of the tooth. Over time, naturally produced saliva reduces the level of acidity in the mouth, thereby raising the pH level to pH 5 and above, which allows the teeth to start repairing the damage done during the acid attack. This is remineralisation! However, if the pH around the tooth stays below pH 5 consistently, there is no opportunity for remineralisation to occur.
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