NovaMin or BioMin: 3 Advantages
Bioglass Family
NovaMin® and BioMin® as cousins, they come from the same bioglass (soluble silicate) family but have different parents. Both can trace their roots back some 50 years, to the work undertaken by Professor Hench to help repair bones. NovaMin® was patented in 2002[i], whilst BioMin F was commercialised in 2016 after winning the prestigious Armours & Brasiers award in the UK.
[i] https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/behind-the-science/patients-consumers/novamin-the-accidental-curist/
Bioglass benefits
One of the greatest benefits of using a bioglass toothpaste is their ability to control the release ingredients. When brushing with NovaMin® or BioMin the bioglass is attracted to the tooth’s enamel and forms a coating. Saliva slowly dissolves the coating to precipitate fluorapatite or hydroxyapatite.
3 Key differences between NovaMin® and BioMin
NovaMin® vs BioMin F: Advantage 1: BioMin F maintains therapeutic fluoride availability up to 6X longer.
“For treatments to be effective longer than the brushing and salivary clearance – fluoride needs to be deposited and slowly released.”
Professor Ten Cate lead global researcher in tooth decay.
Fluoride fights decay and drives the remineralisation process. NovaMin® does not contain fluoride, toothpastes using NovaMin use a soluble fluoride (as do 99% of all fluoridated toothpaste). Soluble fluoride loses its therapeutic benefits after around 90-120 mins[I].
BioMin F contains fluoride in the bioglass particle and was developed in response to Profess Ten Cate’s requirements of a slow release fluoride. The fluoride is slowly released over a period of up to 12 hours. Because fluoride is more efficiently used, BioMin needs 60% less fluoride (530 ppm vs 1450 ppm).
[i] BioMinF Data on file. Dentine Hypersensitivity: Advances in Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment 2015
NovaMin vs BioMin F : Advantage 2: BioMin has a higher remineralisation rate
Researchers[i] have shown the level of phosphate in the bioglass affects the rate of remineralisation. High phosphate content bioglass such as BioMin F and BioMin C form apatite within 6 hours compared to glasses such as NovaMin® which can take up to 3 days[ii].BioMin F also has a significantly higher remineralisation rate than NovaMin based products.
[i] Mohammed Mneimne, High phosphate content significantly increases apatite formation of fluoride-containing bioactive glasses, Acta Biomaterialia 7 (2011) 1827–1834 [ii] Mohammed Mneimne, Robert G. Hill, Andrew J. Bushby, Delia S. Brauer, Acta Biomaterialia 7 (2011) 1827–1834
NovaMin® vs BioMin F: Advantage 3: BioMin F has improved sensitivity reduction.
With aging and following whitening treatments, dentinal tubules can become exposed and cause nerve endings to be stimulated, causing sensitive teeth. Standard dental treatment is to seal / occlude the exposed tubules. BioMin and NovaMin® can both enter the tubules and help seal from within. BioMin benefits from a larger proportion (approx. 50%) of particles that can enter the open tubule compared to NovaMin®’s approx 13%. BioMin’s smaller particles also deliver additional consumer benefits including a smoother ‘less gritty’ texture and a less abrasive toothpaste which reduces enamel wear.
A number of clinical papers have compared the performance of BioMin F vs NovaMin based toothpaste in the treatment in dentine hypersensitivity, ie sensitive teeth. On average the papers show BioMin F greater level of pain score reduction than NovaMin based toothpaste.
NovaMin®is a registered trademark licensed to or owned by the GSK group of companies.