Keynote Presentation
Professor Tetsuo Nakamoto,
LSU Health Sciences Center, USA
Title: Theobromine: Safe alternative for fluoride in
dentifrice; How theobromine was discovered?
Statement of the Problem: Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethyxanthine) and
theobromine (3,7-dimethyxanthine) both are members of the xanthine family.
Coffee and many soft drinks contain caffeine. Theobromine is the main
ingredient in cacao and chocolate is made from.
Over 35 years ago, simple experiment in which the diet fed to lactating
dams had caffeine added. The mineral contents of the tooth from the pups which
sucked the caffeine-containing dam’s milk were decreased. The experiments were
started to determine if caffeine would affect either enamel or dentin or both.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Dams were fed with caffeine diet and their
pups were sacrificed at postnatal day 22 and 1st molars were
extracted and enamel surface were exposed to weak acid solution. Ca, P, and Mg
of the dissolve solution from the caffeine group were more than the control.
Enamel and dentin were separated. The crystallite size of the enamel of the
pup’s tooth from caffeine group was smaller. By feeding a cariogenic diet,
caffeine group showed the higher incidence of caries score in the separate study.
We conducted an experiment to grow apatite crystals in vitro by adding various
member of the xanthine group. Theobromine produced larger crystal sizes
compared to caffeine. We conducted the exactly the same procedure as caffeine,
but adding theobromine in the maternal diet. The dissolved minerals on this
group were far less compared to control. Because the chemical which affects the
enamel structure is only fluoride, theobromine might play a similar role like
fluoride, but much safer because chocolate has been eaten over centuries
without any adverse effects in the human health. The comparative studies of the
various parameters between theobromine and fluoride were done. Recently
fluoride was designated as one of the developmental neurotoxicants as more
adverse effects of fluoride are revealed.
Findings: The comparative studies have shown
theobromine based dentifrice are superior to each parameter studied.
Conclusion & Significance: In the first time, non-fluoride dentifrice
based upon theobromine was developed and this is safe and effective compared to
that of the fluoride-based dentifrice.
About Professor Tetsuo Nakamoto,
Tetsuo Nakamoto: Education, Nihon University, School of Dentistry, Tokyo,
Japan, DDS, 1964, Dentistry. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Graduate Dentistry, MS,
1966, Prosthodontics. University of North Dakota, Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology,
School of Medicine, Grand Forks, North Dakota, MS, 1969, Physiology. University
of Michigan, Dept. of Physiology, Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, MS,
1971, Physiology. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dept. of Nutrition and Food
Science, Cambridge, Ma., PhD, 1978, Nutritional
Biochemistry and Metabolism. The founding members of Theodent (New Orleans) and Chief Scientific Officer
(CSO) and Chairman of the board, 2007- Present.
The BioInnovation Center, New
Orleans. La. The founding members of Theocorp Holding Company (New Orleans) and
CSO and Chairman of the board, 2007- Present. The BioInnovation Center, New
Orleans, La. Professor of Emeritus, LSU
Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, La., 2006- Present. Professor of Pediatrics,
Dept. of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, La, 2000 – 2006.
Professor of Physiology, School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, and Graduate
School, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, La, 1991 – 2006, he was an
assistant and associate professor before the
promotion to a professor.Join us for the session at the 28th Euro Dentistry Congress at Edinburgh, Scotland:
Date: March 02-03, 2020
Venue: Holiday Inn Edinburgh 132 Corstorphine Rd, Edinburgh EH12 6UA Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
