Good oral hygiene may be at least in part achieved by brushing the teeth with an oral care composition such as a dentifrice composition. A dentifrice composition is widely acknowledged as important in contributing to improving oral health, especially via a reduction in the incidence of dental caries and the build-up of tartar and dental calculus. Such conditions result from oral plaque, and may lead to diseases such as periodontis and gingivitis. These diseases remain a major cause of tooth loss in adults today. In addition, other oral health afflictions, such as staining of the tooth enamel and oral malodor (bad breath) may be reduced by regular tooth brushing with a dentifrice composition.
Fluoride ion sources are well known for use in oral care compositions as anti-caries agents. Soluble fluoride ions are contained in a number of oral care compositions for this purpose, particularly toothpaste. Application of soluble fluoride ions to dental enamel serves to protect teeth against decay. A wide variety of fluoride ion-yielding materials can be employed as sources of soluble fluoride in oral care compositions.
While some oral care compositions may contain fluoride ions, the source of such fluoride ions may not be effective to provide sufficient anti-caries benefits. For example, certain fluoride sources react with free ions from abrasives in the oral care composition to form insoluble salts such as calcium fluoride (CaF2). This kind of fluoride is not soluble and therefore is ineffective against preventing caries. However, the average consumer has no way of knowing whether the fluoride ion source in his or her oral care composition is delivering an effective amount of soluble fluoride ion. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a fluoride detecting means that is easy to use for consumers.
Like oral care compositions, water sources sometimes contain fluoride. Various processes and products are available for testing the concentration of fluoride in water. There are several known chemical reactions that test for the presence and concentration of soluble fluoride ions in water. Exemplary of some of the various forms of these chemical reactions is GB 1,006,908.
However these chemical processes are designed for large-scale industrial use, such as wastewater treatment, and are expensive on a smaller scale. These processes and products often involve several steps that require precision and often take place at acidity levels unacceptable for consumer use. Additionally, the processes for testing water often involve lengthy periods of time for results to occur. Reaction rates requiring more than 15 minutes are not ideal for a consumer product.
Accordingly, the need exists for a fast, cost effective, easy and accurate system for indicating the presence of effective soluble fluoride ion sources in oral care compositions that is easy for consumers to use at home and/or for oral care professionals to use in the office.