Three students of Universitas Brawijaya (UB), Ririn Lutvita Sari (FKG), Afina Muti’ah Tuhepaly (FKG), and Kharisma Ghanyysyafira (FT) made a gel from Tamarind which is useful for whitening teeth naturally.
One of the students, Ririn Lutvita Sari, said that teeth which experience discoloration are extrinsically difficult to remove by brushing or scaling, and one way that has been done so far is by whitening teeth or bleaching.
However, the tooth whitening material has the effect of increasing porosity or decreasing the strength of the teeth, thereby reducing the hardness of the enamel.
Therefore, Ririn and her friends tried to maximize the potential of tamarind as a teeth whitening agent.
He explained that a natural ingredient that has the ability to change tooth color or remove tooth stains is malic acid.
And, one of the fruits that contain malic acid is tamarind fruit (Tamarindus indica L.).
Ririn, then turns Tamarind into a gel to become a teeth whitening product, and it can be applied to the teeth for about 10-20 minutes and done 2-3 times a day.
Tooth whitening products in the form of gel from Javanese Tamarinds are more effective and safer because they have the size of nanoparticles, and use natural ingredients.
Meanwhile, Malic Acid itself has a very low molecular weight so that it is able to diffuse into enamel and dentin, and can oxidize the surface of tooth enamel by releasing free oxygen on the double bonds of organic and inorganic compounds in teeth.
“In the process of working, there will be an oxidation process involving oxygen and loss of hydrogen. In the oxidation process, there is a breakdown of the chain of chromophore substances in the teeth that were previously attached to the pelical, causing the color of the teeth to become darker and a reduction reaction that makes the teeth lighter in color, ”said Ririn.
The supervisor, Feni Istikharoh, drg., Explained that almost 90% of dental materials are imported products, so it is not surprising that dental materials are currently relatively expensive.
“We know that natural resources in Indonesia are very abundant, one of which is tamarind. Tamarind has a high content of malic acid and oxalic acid. “There is research on tamarind which will later be developed into nano gel products, which could potentially be used as a safe teeth whitening material, and have the ability to whiten teeth that are not inferior to foreign products,” she said.
Feni hopes that through this product dentists will no longer need to import teeth whitening materials from abroad anymore.
“If we can cultivate our abundant natural resources, in the future we hope to reduce our dependence on importing dental materials,” added Feni Istikharoh. [RIN / Humas UB/ Trans. Iir].
