Kraft Foods Patents Formulation for Tooth-Whitening Gum

What if we can just chew on a gum and get whiter teeth instantly? Yellow and stained teeth can make us look older. That’s why man’s quest for easier ways to pristine white teeth is showing no sign of stopping any time soon.

Peroxides have long been used as a teeth bleaching agent. In fact, there are quite a number of OTC tooth whitening products with a good amount of Hydrogen Peroxide. But even with as little as 3%, this amount may cause gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. Hydrogen peroxide is also fairly unstable – that’s why you’ll see it packaged universally in amber glass bottles, to protect it from light and air.

But this did not stop Kraft, makers of Oreo, in developing a tooth-whitening chewing gum that encapsulates solid peroxide in the gum base.

After conducting successful human tests, the company filed a patent for the technology. The results of the tests allowed the manufacturer to legally claim that chewing the gum “results in two shades whiter teeth to the user.”

Read about the full patent filing.

“Peroxides are known to provide tooth whitening effect to users. Due to its interaction with certain carriers, however, peroxides have typically been used as additives in gel compositions. There has been difficulty in providing peroxides to users in other forms that may be desirable for the user”, says Kraft.