It is well known that tobacco use, whether in the form of chewing, smoking, or otherwise, can cause the deposition of materials on the teeth, tongue, gums, and other surfaces in the oral cavity of tobacco users. The result of the deposition of these materials is well known by any one who uses tobacco or knows someone who uses tobacco. The most well known of these effects include the discoloration of the teeth and other surfaces within the oral cavity such as the gums and tongue and the causing of bad breath. Tobacco stained teeth can be unsightly and bad breath can be unpleasant for the tobacco users and those he or she comes into contact with. Additionally, as described below, the materials deposited on the interior surface of the mouths of tobacco users can lead to health problems, such as tooth decay and gum disease. It is also well known that food, drink, other materials that pass through or enter the oral cavity and their constituents can be deposited on the surfaces of peoples' oral cavities.
The major constituent of deposits caused by tobacco users is commonly known as "tar". Tobacco tar is loosely defined as a dark, oily, viscid blend of polycyclic aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, although tar also contains other compounds. Tar may also be defined as a product resulting from the destructive distillation of tobacco.
Tar is produced as tobacco in a cigarette, cigar, or pipe burns and as tobacco is chewed. The tar is contained within the smoke produced by the burning of the tobacco. Other materials in tobacco smoke or in chewed tobacco may also stain the teeth.
As a smoker smokes a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, he or she inhales the tar along with the other tobacco combustion products as the smoke is sucked into the mouth and eventually into the lungs. The smoke is then blown out of the body as the smoker exhales, passing through the mouth of the smoker once again. Therefore, the smoke passes through the mouth of the smoker twice, upon inhalation and exhalation, providing ample opportunity for the compounds in the tar to come into contact with the teeth, gums, tongue, and other surfaces in the oral cavity and be deposited thereon. Obviously, the more a person smokes, the more tar will be deposited in the mouth of the smoker.
As chewers of tobacco chew the tobacco and materials contained within the tobacco will form a solution with saliva, enzymes in saliva will also breakdown the tobacco. The tobacco and saliva solution contain tar along with the other tobacco products. The tobacco and saliva solution and materials contained in both can be deposited on the surfaces within the oral cavities of the chewers as they chew. Obviously, the more a person chews tobacco, the more tar and other materials will be deposited in the oral cavities of tobacco chewers.
Dentists and hygienists can immediately detect tobacco users by the heavy staining of the lingual surface of the mandibular anterior teeth. These stains are observed as being resinous in nature. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control, smokers' teeth are generally twice as stained as non-smokers'. McKendrick, Barbenel, and McHugh, Indiana School of Dentistry (1970).
Due to the hydrophobic nature of the compounds contained within the tar, the tar is not easily dissolved, solubilized, detached, and/or dispersed by commonly available over the counter mouth treatments such as toothpastes and gels. As a result, tobacco tar can build up on the teeth, dentures, denture plates, artificial teeth and other surfaces of tobacco users' oral cavities, causing, among other things, staining of plaque and calculus and an aesthetically displeasing appearance of the tobacco users' teeth, gums, and other surfaces in their mouths. Additionally, since the compounds in tar have an unpleasant aroma, their deposition and residence within the mouth of tobacco users can cause chronic halitosis.
The difficulty in removing tar and other deposits resulting from tobacco use within the oral cavities of tobacco users is increased by there viscid nature. Many compounds contained within food, drink, other materials that pass through or enter peoples' oral cavities and their constituents can also be deposited on surfaces of peoples' oral cavities.
Therefore, as tobacco tar and other deposits build up on surfaces in peoples' mouths, the surfaces are discolored. Also, the breath of tobacco users takes on a malodorous nature. In fact, tar and other tobacco materials can become incorporated into plaque and calculus that form on teeth. Because of its especially tenacious nature, the calculus is only removable by a dentist or dental hygienist with a steel pick.
Because tobacco tar can reduce immune response, bacteria has the opportunity to proliferate. Bacterial can cause tooth decay, gingivitis, bleeding and swelling of the gums, and periodontal disease. Therefore, tobacco tar is a real health problem.
As discussed above, tobacco tar is especially difficult to remove once deposited on the surface of the teeth, gums, tongue, and the rest of the oral cavity. Materials in food and other substances coming into contact with peoples' mouths can also be just as difficult to remove. In an attempt to remove tar and other deposits from teeth, products such as toothpastes and gels were developed that claim to remove tobacco tar as well as various other stains, such as blueberry and wine.
Known products that claim to remove tobacco stains or deposits on teeth have a minimal effect primarily through physical abrasion. Such products act in a manner similar to how sandpaper removes the surface layer of paint from wood, for example. These products typically include an aluminum or silicon based abrading material to physically remove the tar from the surfaces in the mouth.
Prior to the invention by the present inventor of the composition disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,366 to the same inventor as the present invention, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, and marketed under the tradename "TARGON", all known anti-tobacco stain products on the market are in toothpaste form. These known products do not include ingredients which dissolve, solubilize, detach and/or disperse tobacco stains or tar, but rather, remove tobacco stains or tar primarily through physical abrading action. In other words, they rub the tar off the surfaces of the mouth as the smoker brushes his or her teeth. Known toothpastes that claim to remove tobacco stains or tar are some of the most abrasive toothpastes on the market.
Unfortunately, the abrading materials in these known toothpastes do not differentiate between tobacco tar and other materials, such as the actual surface of the teeth. Therefore, in addition to removing tobacco tar, these materials can actually remove enamel from the teeth themselves. Removal of the enamel could cause the teeth to become sensitive, which can cause individuals to avoid brushing their teeth, which may lead to tooth loss.
For example, the outer enamel layer can be partially removed by these known products, thereby damaging the teeth and creating scratches on the surface of the teeth. These scratches can make the teeth more susceptible to decay and endanger the softer interior layers of the teeth. This is why toothpastes for sensitive teeth are very low in abrasiveness. Also, scratches on teeth can increase the surface area of the teeth, thereby increasing the number of places where bacteria can attach to the surface of the tooth and potentially cause tooth decay.
These abrasive cleaners are also not capable of removing tar from microscopic concavities in the teeth which are too small for the abrasives to enter or from any surface which the abrasive materials can not be rubbed against, such as the interproximal spaces between teeth and some gingival spaces between the teeth and gums. Therefore, these known abrasive materials that claim to remove tobacco tar from the surfaces of teeth can in fact leave much tar untouched on teeth and oral soft tissue and actually cause damage to the oral cavity. For these reasons, dentists usually do not recommend the use of these known abrasive toothpastes.
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USPTO Backgrounds