Israel Kleinberg, D.D.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.D.(c), Distinguished Professor, Chair, Department of Oral Biology and Pathology
Candies, chocolates and cookies that prevent cavities? No, you’re not dreaming. In the not-too-distant future, sweet treats may become a delectable part of daily dental care for kids, and happily, for adults. The tooth-friendly treats are actually sugarless confections infused with CaviStat®, a novel anti-cavity agent developed by Dr. Kleinberg and his research team. The technology mimics the natural protective action of saliva by neutralizing harmful acid-producing oral bacteria while protecting the teeth against destructive acid demineralization. It is available in a commercial product called BasicMint™.
Two clinical studies have confirmed CaviStat® efficacy. In one with 200 children, those who received twice daily doses of BasicMint™, had up to 75% reduction in dental caries compared to their controls. In another study with 726 children, CaviStat® incorporated into toothpaste cut cavities by more than half compared to a fluoride dentifrice.
“CaviStat® technology should mean substantial reduction in cavities and big reduction in treatment costs,” says Dr. Kleinberg. And, if CaviStat® is applied to teeth before caries is visibly detectable, such pre-caries lesions can be repaired by re-mineralization treatment, thereby avoiding dreaded drilling and filling.
Dr. Kleinberg’s lab is a fertile breeding ground of ideas and inventions. His team is currently involved in 16 projects in various development and marketing stages. Besides CaviStat® for dental caries, these include two products that reduce dentinal sensitivity: DenClude® for home use and ProClude® for professional use. Both resulted from licensing to Ortek Therapeutics on Long Island and sub-licensing subsequently to one of the world’s largest dental consumer companies for world-wide marketing. A mouthwash that eliminates halitosis has also been developed and is being marketed by another start-up company. An electronic caries explorer, yet unnamed, has reached the manufacturing stage. It is capable of detecting cavities long before they are present visually.
Based on his decades of research into the complex oral ecosystem, Dr. Kleinberg is now examining the metabolisms of the under-arm, between-toes, vaginal, nares (nose) and colon microbial communities. “These investigations have given us a broad understanding of how mixed bacteria become unbalanced and cause disease” says Dr. Kleinberg. “We now know how to correct microbial community imbalances and are building a significant pipeline of novel health care products and treatments based thereon.