Dental News - Dentist awarded Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation

Dentist awarded Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation

Winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation Eric Reynolds (middle) with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Senator Michaelia Cash, Acting Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. (Photograph: Supplied by Eric Reynolds)

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 25. October 2017

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MELBOURNE, Australia: University of Melbourne molecular biologist Prof. Eric Reynolds has claimed the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation for his pioneering dental research. Thirty years ago, the then-young dental researcher discovered a protein in cow’s milk that repairs and strengthens teeth. Today, that protein, sold as RECALDENT, is used by millions of people every day in the form of chewing gum and professional applications by the dentist.

As an inventor and laureate professor, Reynolds now leads the University of Melbourne’s dental school and travels the world working with Australian and global businesses to create new products to further improve oral health. “Oral diseases are the most prevalent diseases of humankind,” said Reynolds.

With one in four Australians suffering from caries and/or periodontal disease, the cost of treatment is A$8 billion a year, with worldwide costs around A$400 billion a year. Since Reynolds’s discovery, products using RECALDENT have generated sales of over A$2 billion, and it has been estimated that they have saved over A$12 billion in dental treatment costs worldwide.

“I am very honoured to receive the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation and extremely grateful that the judging panel recognised the importance of innovation in oral health research,” said Reynolds.

In his early dental academic career, there was anecdotal and some epidemiological evidence that dairy products could reduce the risk of dental caries. Through a series of experiments, Reynolds and his team were able to confirm this and found that the effect was due to a unique form of calcium present in milk, in a protein called casein.

When Reynolds started talking at international meetings about the product, the large oral companies wanted samples to evaluate. That is when the Australian dairy industry became involved—first Bonlac Foods (now part of Fonterra) and then Dairy Australia. They started manufacturing the material, trademarked as RECALDENT. Today, all the RECALDENT used around the world is made in Melbourne using Australian dairy milk, and Japan is the largest seller of sugar-free gum containing RECALDENT.

Reynolds continues to improve RECALDENT, and a recent US study showed that use of a combination of RECALDENT products, including a new toothpaste, completely eliminated caries in children. As part of the Prime Minister’s award, Reynolds received $250,000.