Dr. Harunani, moved to the USA from Africa to become a dentist in 1980.

During his first year in dental school, he noticed that the average person in the US had more cavities then in the Island where he grew up.

He was challenged by our acceptance of cutting a tooth rather than treating a tooth - We do not cut and replace an infected body part, we treat it – then why do we cut a damaged tooth? Why not treat or repair it? This search for better solution was the start of his 40 year DREAM journey.

As he studied more about dentistry and dental care, he realized that diet has a huge impact and unfortunately, dental care has been focused on treating the symptoms and does not always address all causes of acids that cause erosion/demineralization/cavities! Dental care has been centered around:

• Reducing the dental plaque/bacteria, which is only one source of oral acidity.
• Remineralization and not the demineralization. We need to prevent demineralization while encouraging remineralization. Acidic environment (<5.5 pH) is not conducive to remineralization. (*1,*4)
• Xylitol may not be the best option – which helps reduce the bacterial reproduction (*2) but unfortunately, in therapeutic doses it creates gastric issues for most people. There is also a question on its real world impact. (*3)

For the last several years, Dr. Mohamed Harunani has been working with a world class candy maker, Mr. Mike McDonald, and a world renounced scientist, Dr. John Burgess, to come up with the best tasting and most efficacious formula for DREAM candy. Today, it is here and ready to help you and your patients truly enjoy the great taste of dental care.

OUR CONCERN:

The hard outer layer of a tooth is made of enamel which is made up of Hydroxyapatite crystals (90%*) and is thus susceptible to being dissolved by acids (demineralization) (*5)

There are three basic sources of acidity in the mouth – Stomach acids, foods/drinks we consume and dental plaque/bacteria (which convert the sugars/carbohydrates to lactic acid).(*7, *16) In a study of 379 beverages, 93% were erosive (pH <4) and 39% were considered extremely erosive (pH < 3.0) (*5). Soda consumption has gone from 35 Gallons in 1986 to 43 Gallons/capita in 2022 (*6). Acids from the foods/drinks/plaque, which breaks down enamel causing cavities, continue to attack teeth until they are neutralized by saliva, which takes even longer in patients with dry mouth. Sports drinks can cause significant erosion (*7, *9) Most candies, sodas and other sour treats have a pH below 3 and studies show them to be very acidic, destructive and erosive (*8). Citrus or citric acid is present in almost all fruit flavored candies, foods and drinks. Citric acid is not only destructive due to its acidic pH, which dissolves the tooth mineral, but, in addition, it is also a strong chelating agent which removes Calcium, resulting in greatly increased breakdown of the mineral component of the teeth.(*5, *7 – pg 66, *16)

Toothpastes - rinsing after brushing washes away fluoride and decreases, limiting the contact time necessary for remineralization to occur. It is not possible to consume therapeutic doses of Xylitol (6gm for a small person, 8 grams for a medium and 10 grams for a large person). It would take 30, 40 or 50 pieces of Mentos Pure Fresh (0.2mg/piece) per day OR 43, 57 or 71 pieces of Trident Extra care (0.14mg/piece) to achieve therapeutic doses.

Dentistry had a long history of “watching” cavities get bigger (supervised neglect). – This innovation will help us treat them and “watch” them shrink.

FEEDING YOUR SWEET TOOTH WHILE PROTECTING YOUR SMILE

25% profits donated to feed the hungry.

Patent-Pending.

REFERENCES

*1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034904/pdf/ijn-11-4743.pdf

*2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4232036/

*3. Effectiveness of Xylitol in Reducing Dental Caries in Children

*4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3881791/#r01

*5. https://jada.ada.org/article/S0002-8177(15)01050-8/fulltext

*6. https://www.ibisworld.com/us/bed/per-capita-soft-drink-consumption/1786/

*7. https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/93351

*8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18084191/

*9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21675676/

*10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8323473/

*11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3800408/

*12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6937261/

*13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5756564/

*14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5756564/

*15 – Dr Burgess study

*16 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034904/pdf/ijn-11-4743.pdf

*17 - Scaramucci T, Carvalho JC, Hara AT, Zero DT. Causes of Dental Erosion: Extrinsic Factors. Berlin: Springer

International Publishing; 2015:69–96.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22899679/