Brushing your teeth just got a little more chocolaty.

New Orleans based Theodent has launched a toothpaste that uses compounds found in chocolate to strengthen teeth.

The toothpaste uses a propriety blend, Rennou, which contains an extract of chocolate plus other minerals that work together to strengthen teeth. Rennou is used as a substitute for fluoride in Theodent’s toothpaste.

“Theodent represents for us the only innovation in dental care in 100 years,” says Arman Sadeghpour, Theodent ceo. “I know that is a bold statement, but there are almost no other effective and non-toxic fluoride alternatives on the market.”

Rennou is the product of a team of New Orleans researchers who found that chocolate compounds caused microscopic unit crystals of the tooth enamel to grow larger, resulting in stronger teeth. According to Sadeghpour, Rennou actually gives teeth a harder surface than fluoride does and it’s completely non-toxic.

Though the compounds included in Rennou are related to stimulants like caffeine, Sadeghpour was quick to stress that at most this toothpaste might cause a “mild mood elevating effect” and that it was “certainly not physiologically addictive” as caffeine is.

The compounds are not sweet either, for that matter.

“All things that are good for you taste bad, right?” says Sadeghpour, jokingly.

The compounds in Rennou come from the bitter part of chocolate, but the toothpaste itself is not bitter and has been released in a whitening crystal mint flavor. According to Sadeghpour, the mint flavor is gentler than most brands and meant to encourage longer brushing. Theodent is working on a line for kids that is chocolate flavored.

Theodent Classic is available for sale in some Whole Foods Markets in the US as well as in Canada and eventually will be available at other retailers at a suggested retail price of $9.99. In addition, Theodent 300, an extra strength version, will be marketed to select cosmetic dentists and medical professionals.

For more information, visit www.theodent.com.

- M.K.