The toothpaste market is enormous. Over $26 billion dollars in 2018 to be exact, and the toothpaste market is expected to increase in value to nearly $37 billion by 2024.
Revolutions in toothpaste technology are not exactly common, however, new research could eventually prove to be a gamechanger for the toothpaste industry.
The cannabis plant is one of the most versatile plants on earth and can be used to make everything from food to fuel to medicine.
Findings from a recent study could very well add oral hygiene products to that list.
Cannabinoids and Anti-Bacterial Activity
Researchers in Belgium compared the effectiveness of oral care products and cannabinoids regarding the two groups’ ability to reduce bacterial content in dental plaque.
The cannabinoids involved in the study included:
- Cannabidiol
- Cannabichromene
- Cannabinol
- Cannabigerol
Dental plaque samples were taken from human subjects, put into petri dishes, and allowed to incubate.
The Belgian researchers found that the petri dishes that were treated with cannabinoids had better results than the petri dishes treated with common commercially available oral products.
“By evaluating the colony count of the dental bacteria isolated from six groups, it was found that cannabinoids were more effective in reducing the bacterial colony count in dental plaques as compared to the well-established synthetic oral care products such as Oral B and Colgate,” the authors reported.
“Although commercially available oral care products are considerably effective in maintaining the oral hygiene of the average population, our study found that cannabinoids are substantially effective in reducing the colony count of the bacterial strains of the dental plaque as compared to the well-established synthetic oral care products such as Oral B and Colgate. … We believe that our study opens up the possibilities of developing personalized next-generation oral care products based on cannabinoids,” the authors concluded.
How Soon Will Cannabis Oral Care Products Hit International Shelves?
Before consumers rush to stores to look for cannabinoid-infused toothpaste people must realize that it will likely be quite a while before those types of products are widely available around the world.
Cannabis laws in many countries prevent such products from being legally produced and distributed, including products that involve hemp-derived cannabinoids.
With that being said, as with any type of product that will eventually be hemp-infused and widely available to consumers, cannabis-infused oral products are coming, albeit in a fashion that will be rolled out slowly and in a staggered fashion geographically.
If products are viable, legal dispensaries around the globe will likely start stocking oral care products. Right now they would likely be seen as a novelty, however, if they really work they will presumably be embraced by consumers at an increasing rate as time goes by.
