An On-the-Go Answer for Dental Appliances

Prestige Brands asked Battelle to develop and test a cleaning formulation that could be impregnated into a disposable, textured wipe. It needed to be free of both alcohol and triclosan, an antimicrobial agent commonly used in toothpastes but now under fire for potential health concerns. It also needed to taste good and be shelf stable. We used molecular modeling to develop formulations that met the desired performance requirements. The cleaning efficacy of the formulations was demonstrated by removing synthetic saliva from variety of appliances.

In addition to cleaning ability, we evaluated the formulations to make sure they would not react adversely with the metals and polymers in the appliances. We conducted a thorough literature review on all ingredients to make sure they were safe in case of accidental ingestion. Then we developed a prototype single-use sealed packet for the product. Finally, we conducted accelerated aging tests to make sure the formulation remained stable in flavor, color and cleaning ability, and tested the packaging to make sure it did not leak or degrade over time.