Indiana Nanotech announced this week that global toothpaste manufacturer 3M ESPE is now using the Indiana company's calcium phosphate technology in its new Clinpro 5000 fluoride toothpaste.
The toothpaste uses nanotechnology to combine calcium with fluoride in one tube. Some other toothpastes containing fluoride and calcium keep the two ingredients in separate tubes until they are applied.
Several competing formulations of calcium phosphate have come on the market in toothpastes, gels, prophy pastes, gums, rinses, and other products. Claims that these products can remineralize carious lesions have recently come under criticism by experts demanding more evidence.
The launch of Clinpro 5000 comes less than a year after Indiana Nanotech received a grant of more than $768,000 from Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to further develop the dental technology.
Minneapolis-based Fortune 500 company 3M ESPE is currently marketing the new toothpaste through dentists. Indiana Nanotech is currently working with dental manufacturers to develop over-the-counter mouth rinses and other products that incorporate the technology.
