The scientific research that led to the development of Recaldent™ began in the 1980s when Professor Eric Reynolds, Head of the School of Dental Science at The University of Melbourne, embarked on a project to discover whether calcium and phosphate from cows milk could be delivered to teeth in a way that it could repair damaged tooth enamel.

Over almost 20 years, the team of university researchers painstakingly investigated the casein protein found in milk until they eventually identified the part of casein that carries calcium phosphate and were able to isolate this into a complex they called CPP-ACP (casein phosphopeptide - amorphous calcium phosphate).

Trials of the new CPP-ACP complex found that it could bind to teeth and provide a reservoir of calcium and phosphate on the tooth’s surface which could be absorbed by the tooth enamel.

A two-year population-based study of 2,700 children was undertaken where children were asked to chew sugar-free gum, which has been shown to reduce tooth decay in its own right, for 12-24 months. In the study, some of the children received gum with CPP-ACP and some received gum without it. The study showed that sugar-free gum with CPP-ACP produced 50 percent greater reversals of early signs of decay than did regular sugar-free gum.

This was the first clinical evidence that the CPP-ACP complex was the only technology other than fluoride that could slow the development of tooth decay.

Following the findings of the study, regulatory approval was given to manufacture the CPP-ACP complex as a product, and Eric Reynolds and The University of Melbourne set about gathering government and industry support and know-how to commercialise the discovery. In 1998 the first commercially manufactured batch of Recaldent™ was produced in a pilot factory in Victoria.

Today Recaldent™ is an active ingredient in a number of products, including toothpastes, gum, mouthwash and professional products used by dentists. Global sales of products containing Recaldent™ exceed US$200 million. The most popular Recaldent™ enhanced product is Trident White gum which has generated annual sales of over $50 million in the United States.

At the Cooperative Research Centre for Oral Health Science, research continues to discover new ways of harnessing the therapeutic and preventive powers of Recaldent™. Working with dental researchers and product developers in the United States. Japan and Europe, researchers at the centre are trialing the use of Recaldent™ in new complexes and new delivery mechanisms, including dental cements and sealants, foods and drinks.

See how the CPP_ACP complex works.

Drs Fan Cai and Nathan Cochrane further develop knowledge of the CPP-ACP complex, known as Recaldent™.