FORMULATING A VITAMIN D DELIVERY TOOTHPASTE USING A PENETRATION PROMOTOR

Recently, toothpaste's functionalities have been diversified from the mere functions of removing dietary debris, inhibiting bacterial growth, and enhancing whiter teeth color. Many toothpastes opt to include appealing scents, colors, and active ingredients to expand the applications of toothpastes. Vitamin D is especially important since it promotes calcium absorption in the gut, stimulates bone for growth, and remodels osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The widespread vitamin D deficiency has been found in 42% of the American population today.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. So, the importance of dietary supplements of vitamin D should not be overlooked. However, it is almost impossible to take pills regularly.

Objective: The study was designed to assist the effective dosing of vitamin D daily on a long-term basis by the intraoral administration while toothbrushing.

Methods: An emulsion-based toothpaste was created with distilled water, olive oil, and emulsifying wax. And other typical ingredients were then homogeneously combined with potent penetration promoter azone and vitamin D3. After the vitamin D toothpaste formulated, its various characteristics such as abrasiveness, scratchiness, spreadability, pH, foaming and cleaning ability of our vitamin D3 toothpaste were compared with those of other commercial brand toothpaste. To ensure the intended delivery of the vitamin D3 through the oral cavity, a transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurement was conducted using Lumbricus terrestris skin.

Conclusions: Our vitamin D toothpaste's general characteristics were not significantly different from commercial brand toothpastes. Based on the increase of TEER values for the vitamin D toothpaste group, the feasibility of the delivery of vitamin D3 was demonstrated, though the invertebrate model might have some limitations. More studies should be conducted with further improved transport studies. The intraoral delivery study for vitamin D should give some new insight into the drug delivery application of toothpaste.