Objective
Caries and gingivitis are very common diseases and are caused by dental plaque. Although these diseases can be prevented by frequent plaque removal, few people have the manual dexterity, or the commitment, to ensure that sufficient plaque is removed. sequently, professional treatment is needed to remove or restore carious teeth and to treat periodontitis, a common sequel to gingivitis - this places a huge burden on health care budgets. Some beverages and foods are known to protect against dental diseases and this proposal aims to identify the stituents responsible. Such stituents could be incorporated into functional foods and/or oral healthcare products. The aims of the NUTRIDENT proposal are to: (a) identify stituents of beverages/foods that are able to protect against caries and/or gingivitis, (b) evaluate the effectiveness of such stituents in clinical trials, (c) provide formulations of the stituents suitable for incorporation into functional foods and/or oral healthcare products. These aims will be achieved by a research programme involving: (1) screening of potentially useful beverages/foods for biological activities relevant to the prevention of caries and/or gingivitis, (2) isolation of the active stituents of the materials, (3) clinical evaluation of the active stituents in 4 European countries, (4) incorporation of the active stituents into formulations suitable for use in functional foods and/or oral healthcare products. To carry out this programme, we have assembled a team sisting of 9 partners (7 academic and 2 commercial) with expertise in food and analytical chemistry, bacteriology, cell biology, dental plaque, caries, gingivitis, clinical trials, large-scale production of natural products and product formulation. Achievement of the project aims will satisfy the objectives of T5.4.3.2 which are to identify food/beverage components that can reduce the risk of dental disease and can be incorporated into functional foods.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP6-2005-FOOD-4-B
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
STREP - Specific Targeted Research ProjectCoordinator
LONDON
United Kingdom