Smint

Last updated
Smint
Inception1990
Manufacturer Perfetti Van Melle
Models madeSweetmint, Peppermint, Spearmint, Strawberry
SloganNo Smint, no kiss
Website www.smint.co.uk

Smint is a brand of sugar-free breath mints owned by the Italian-Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. Is known for their distinctive packaging that dispenses one mint at a time, and for their Reuleaux triangle shape. The name is a portmanteau of "sugarfree" and "mint", not of "small mint" as is commonly thought.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Smint was first conceived by Chupa Chups in 1990 as a sugar-free product targeted at adult consumers. [1] After four years of development, Smint was introduced to the market as a subsidiary brand, and launched in the UK a year later in 1995. [1] In 1996 Smint started their "No Smint, no kiss" campaign, aiming to make the brand name "smint" synonymous with "kissing breath". [1]

By 2001, Smint was the top-selling mint in its class in 90% of the markets where it was available, [2] and in the same year Smint started a partnership with Breast Cancer Care, donating 5p to the charity for every pack of strawberry Smint sold. [1]

In 2006, Smint and Chupa Chups were taken over by Perfetti Van Melle. [1] In 2009, Smint launched Smint-XXL tins in the UK, which are three times larger than regular Smint dispensers. [1]

Health benefits

In 2003, Smint started advertising that the xylitol in their product provides health benefits. [1] Xylitol has been posited to have a plaque-reducing effect which helps to prevent dental caries, [3] but a 2014 meta-analysis found only a weak effect. [4] Despite the weak evidence for their benefits, xylitol-sweetened mints are still better for dental health than sugared breath mints, as sugar actively contributes to tooth decay while xylitol does not.

Smint is endorsed by Toothfriendly International, an international dental ratings' organization which certifies products as being non-erosive to teeth and non-carcinogenic. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar substitute</span> Sugarless food additive intended to provide a sweet taste

A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be derived through manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis. Sugar substitute products are commercially available in various forms, such as small pills, powders, and packets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toothpaste</span> Substance to clean and maintain teeth

Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, assists in suppressing halitosis, and delivers active ingredients to help prevent tooth decay and gum disease (gingivitis). Owing to differences in composition and fluoride content, not all toothpastes are equally effective in maintaining oral health. The decline of tooth decay during the 20th century has been attributed to the introduction and regular use of fluoride-containing toothpastes worldwide. Large amounts of swallowed toothpaste can be poisonous. Common colors for toothpaste include white and blue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xylitol</span> Synthetic sweetener

Xylitol is a chemical compound with the formula C
5
H
12
O
5
, or HO(CH2)(CHOH)3(CH2)OH; specifically, one particular stereoisomer with that structural formula. It is a colorless or white crystalline solid. It is classified as a polyalcohol and a sugar alcohol, specifically an alditol. Of the common sugar alcohols, only sorbitol is more soluble in water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chewing gum</span> Soft substance meant to be chewed without swallowing

Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its texture is reminiscent of rubber because of the physical-chemical properties of its polymer, plasticizer, and resin components, which contribute to its elastic-plastic, sticky, chewy characteristics.

Teeth cleaning is part of oral hygiene and involves the removal of dental plaque from teeth with the intention of preventing cavities, gingivitis, and periodontal disease. People routinely clean their own teeth by brushing and interdental cleaning, and dental hygienists can remove hardened deposits (tartar) not removed by routine cleaning. Those with dentures and natural teeth may supplement their cleaning with a denture cleaner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chupa Chups</span> Catalan candy brand

Chupa Chups is a Spanish brand of lollipop and confectionery company found in over 150 countries. The brand was founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat, and is currently owned by the Italian-Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. The name of the brand comes from the Spanish verb chupar, meaning "to suck". Similar confections are known as lollipops or suckers in English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dental floss</span> Cord of thin filaments used in interdental cleaning

Dental floss is a cord of thin filaments, typically made of nylon or silk, used in interdental cleaning to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth or places a toothbrush has difficulty reaching or is unable to reach. Its regular use as part of oral cleaning is intended to maintain oral health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xerostomia</span> Medical condition

Xerostomia, also known as dry mouth, is a subjective complaint of dryness in the mouth, which may be associated with a change in the composition of saliva, or reduced salivary flow, or have no identifiable cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dentyne</span> Brand of chewing gum

Dentyne is a brand of chewing gum and breath mints available in several countries globally. It is owned by Perfetti Van Melle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trident (gum)</span> Sugar-free chewing gum brand

Trident is a brand of sugar-free chewing gum owned by the Italian-Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. It was originally introduced by American Chicle in 1960 shortly before it was bought by Warner-Lambert in 1962. It reached the UK in 2007 when it was introduced by its then-owner Cadbury Schweppes in the United Kingdom. In many other European countries, Trident is branded as Stimorol gum; it is generally the same as Trident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fluoride therapy</span> Medical use of fluoride

Fluoride therapy is the use of fluoride for medical purposes. Fluoride supplements are recommended to prevent tooth decay in children older than six months in areas where the drinking water is low in fluoride. It is typically used as a liquid, pill, or paste by mouth. Fluoride has also been used to treat a number of bone diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfetti Van Melle</span> Italian–Dutch multinational company of confectionery and chewing gum

Perfetti Van Melle is an Italian-Dutch multinational company of confectionery and gum. It was formed in 2001 with the merger of the Italian-based company Perfetti SpA and the Dutch-based company Van Melle NV. Perfetti Van Melle is owned by the Italian Perfetti family and the Dutch Van Melle family and is headquartered in Lainate, Italy, and Breda, Netherlands.

Chlormint is a product line of chewing gum and breath mint candies made by Perfetti Van Melle, India. It was used in a show called "Deal Ya No Deal" as one of the prizes, and it was a best mint selling company in India at its time.

Two multi-national companies, Wrigley and Cadbury, together account for some 60% market share of the worldwide chewing gum market. The global market shares for the top five chewing gum companies are estimated to be:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tooth brushing</span> Act of scrubbing teeth with a toothbrush

Tooth brushing is the act of scrubbing teeth with a toothbrush equipped with toothpaste. Interdental cleaning can be useful with tooth brushing, and together these two activities are the primary means of cleaning teeth, one of the main aspects of oral hygiene. The recommended amount of time for tooth brushing is two minutes each time for two times a day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gingival and periodontal pocket</span> Abnormally deep space between a tooth and the gums


In dental anatomy, the gingival and periodontal pockets are dental terms indicating the presence of an abnormal depth of the gingival sulcus near the point at which the gingival (gum) tissue contacts the tooth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oral hygiene</span> Cleaning the mouth by brushing the teeth and cleaning in between the teeth

Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's oral cavity clean and free of disease and other problems by regular brushing of the teeth and adopting good hygiene habits. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out on a regular basis to enable prevention of dental disease and bad breath. The most common types of dental disease are tooth decay and gum diseases, including gingivitis, and periodontitis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fluoride varnish</span> Highly concentrated form of fluoride

Fluoride varnish is a highly concentrated form of fluoride that is applied to the tooth's surface by a dentist, dental hygienist or other dental professional, as a type of topical fluoride therapy. It is not a permanent varnish but due to its adherent nature it is able to stay in contact with the tooth surface for several hours. It may be applied to the enamel, dentine or cementum of the tooth and can be used to help prevent decay, remineralise the tooth surface and to treat dentine hypersensitivity. There are more than 30 fluoride-containing varnish products on the market today, and they have varying compositions and delivery systems. These compositional differences lead to widely variable pharmacokinetics, the effects of which remain largely untested clinically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remineralisation of teeth</span>

Tooth remineralization is the natural repair process for non-cavitated tooth lesions, in which calcium, phosphate and sometimes fluoride ions are deposited into crystal voids in demineralised enamel. Remineralization can contribute towards restoring strength and function within tooth structure.

Interdental cleaning or interproximal cleaning is part of oral hygiene where the aim is to clean the areas in between the teeth, otherwise known as the proximal surfaces of teeth. This is to remove the dental plaque in areas a toothbrush cannot reach. The ultimate goal of interproximal cleaning is to prevent the development of interproximal caries and periodontal disease. The combined use of tooth brushing, and mechanical and manual interdental cleaning devices has been proven to reduce the prevalence of caries and periodontal diseases.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Smint Journey". Smint. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. Tim Jones (2012). Innovating at the Edge. Routledge. pp. 164–165. ISBN   9781136395352 . Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  3. Tanzer JM (1995). "Xylitol chewing gum and dental caries". International Dental Journal. 45 (1 Suppl 1): 65–71. PMID   7607747.
  4. Riley, P.; Moore, D.; Ahmed, F.; Sharif, M.O.; Worthington, H.V. (26 March 2015). "Xylitol-containing products for preventing dental caries in children and adults". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015 (3): CD010743. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010743.pub2. PMC   9345289 . PMID   25809586.
    Riley, P.; Moore, D.; Ahmed, F.; Sharif, M. O.; Worthington, H. V. (2015). "Can xylitol – used in products like sweets, candy, chewing gum, and toothpaste – help prevent tooth decay in children and adults?". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Lay summary. 2015 (3): CD010743. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010743.pub2. PMC   9345289 . PMID   25809586. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. "Toothfriendly at the ISM 2016". Toothfriendly. Retrieved 22 January 2019.