Abstract:
A method for treating mouth sores caused by abrasion of orthodontic braces by placing oral patch or blob on the brace or sore to speed healing and relieve pain. The oral patch or blob is placed either on the portion of the brace that comes into contact with the sore or onto the sore directly. If certain medications are applied to a mouth sore using an oral patch or blob that restricts local flow of saliva and delivers the medication for at least 30 minutes and the patch or blobs are used for at least two or more hours per day, the method reduces the healing time for mouth sores from typical 10-14 days to 1-5 days. The method can be used with various antimicrobials, glucocorticoids or anthihistamines incorporated into the patch or blob that reduce inflammation or speed the healing of mouth sores caused by braces.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application claims priority from PCT/US02/35399, application filed Nov. 5, 2002, via co-pending 10/772,099, which claimed priority from it and was filed Feb. 4, 2004, and from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/792,121 filed Apr. 13, 2006. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The teachings of all of the references cited herein are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.  
         [0003]     Orthodontic braces have been used for many years to move teeth in a patient to a desired location. The braces are generally comprised of bands that usually wrap around a tooth and wires that connect from one tooth to another. Very often the braces rub against tissues in the mouth producing sores in the mouth. These sores may be the result of abrasion of the brace against the affected tissue or from contact dermatitis from metal ions, such as nickel ions, released from stainless steel alloys used in the braces. Thus, there is a need to produce a device that will soothe the pain associated with such sores and promote the healing of the sores.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     The disclosed devices and methods fill this need by providing for an oral patch or blob (hydrophilic blob) and methods of applying the blob to braces or sores associated to alleviate pain and promote healing of mouth sores caused by the braces. The blob is a soft, adherent oral patch or blob including a hydrophilic polymer.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]      FIG. 1   a  shows a side view of an oral patch or blob that completely dissolves.  
         [0006]      FIG. 1   b  shows a top view of the same oral patch or blob.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  shows an oral patch or blob adhering onto a brace of an orthodontic device preventing the brace from coming into contact with a sore on the cheek of a patient.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  shows an oral patch or blob adhering onto a sore caused by contact with an orthodontic brace. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  shows an oral patch or blob that completely dissolves. It has a feel and texture like gummy candies. It is made with slowly dissolving hydrocolloids so that that it typically lasts in the mouth for at least one to six hours. The patch or blob can be formed in the shape of a tablet or a lozenge or a wafer or any other desired shape. The preferred shape is a thin lentil as shown in  FIG. 1   a.    
         [0010]      FIG. 2  shows an oral patch or blob  10  attached to a brace  12 , which is attached to a tooth  14 . Patch or blob  10  is attached to brace  12  to prevent contact of the brace  12  with sore  16  on the inner surface of cheek  18 . Sore  16  was either caused or irritated by brace  12 . Users with braces apply the patch or blob to the braces opposite the mouth sore so that the patch or blob is touching the mouth sore most of the time and is stuck to the teeth and/or braces. As it softens, the patch or blob settles into the braces. It will completely dissolve out of the braces in 3-9 hours. All this time the oral patch or blob may supply medication to the sore.  
         [0011]     A preferred oral patch or blob to treat sores caused by an orthodontic device is made of two primary components.  
         [0012]     The first component is a porous molecular network formed as a unitary solid structure that remains a solid at human mouth temperatures. In preferred embodiments, this network is elasto-plastic (elastic or plastic or a combination thereof), giving it a soft feel in the mouth, in contrast to being crumbly or a paste. The network is preferably hydrophilic so that, even when applied to a wet mucosal surface in the mouth, it will tend to adhere by absorbing moisture from the mucosal surface. Preferably, the network slowly dissolves in saliva so that the patch or blob merely dissipates over time and the patch or blob never has to be removed from the mouth.  
         [0013]     The second component is a hydrophilic polymer that is liquid at human mouth temperatures distributed throughout the pores of the network. Because the polymer is hydrophilic and liquid at human mouth temperatures, it will adhere very well to wet surfaces inside the mouth and is quite soft which provides a soothing feeling to any sensitive tissue such as sores. Also because the patch or blob is soft when it is wet, the patch or blob will adhere to metal bands and brackets of dental braces without damaging the braces or bending wires extending from the brackets.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  shows an alternative to placing the patch or blob onto the offending portion of the brace. Patch or blob  20  is placed onto sore  16 . The patch or blob prevents brace  12  from coming into contact with sore  16 . The adherent oral patch or blob will adhere to the cheek or lips without the user first drying saliva from the tissue. If the patient merely places the oral patch or blob in his or her mouth and holds it in the desired location for 10 to 40 seconds, it will then adhere to the tissues that it has been touching without movement, even though those tissues are wet. This is far easier for patients to use than requiring that the tissue first be dried with a towel before the adherent oral patch or blob is placed. If the patient wants to use an oral patch or blob in the lip or beside the tongue, the oral patch or blob can easily be removed for talking and then easily be replaced without using a towel or a mirror.  
         [0015]     A desired medication may also located within the pores of the network along with the hydrophilic polymer.  
         [0016]     The network component may be comprised of a thermo gel having a melting temperature higher than human mouth temperatures. Preferably, the thermo gel is elasto-plastic, such as formed by a mixture of the hydrogels konjac gum and xanthan gum dissolved in hot water and then cooled to form an elasto-plastic gel. Alternatively, the network may be comprised of a complex carbohydrate, such as cellulose, pectin, maltodextrin, or starch from potato, rice, corn, or wheat. Also, the network may be comprised of a hydrogel with a melting temperature higher than temperatures in the human mouth formed of amino acids, such as peptides.  
         [0017]     In preferred embodiments, the hydrophilic polymer that melts at mouth temperatures gels to a solid at room temperatures. This allows the oral patch or blob to be removed from the mouth and placed on a smooth surface, such as a plastic bag. Because the hydrophilic polymer then gels, the oral patch or blob again becomes handleable with the fingers to return it to the mouth without being too sticky to handle or leaving a residue on the fingers or on the plastic bag. In one such embodiment, the hydrophilic polymer is protein gelatin which is partially hydrolyzed collagen rendered from animal tissue, which solidifies at just below mouth temperatures and remains a solid even at clothes pocket temperatures so it will not melt in a pocket.  
         [0018]     In a method for producing an oral patch or blob, ingredients for forming the porous network, molecules of the hydrophilic polymer, molecules of the medication, and water are mixed together. The mixture is heated to dissolve all ingredients, either before the ingredients are added together or after they are added together, and the mixture is then cooled, thereby causing the ingredients for forming a network to form the porous network as a unitary solid structure having the medication and the hydrophilic polymer within its pores. Before it is cooled, the hot mixture may be deposited into a mold of a suitable shape to form the preferred unitary solid structure. The mold may be formed in powdered starch, as is well known in the candy making industry for forming gumdrops. Alternatively, the mold may be formed of a rigid material such as metal or plastic. If the mold is thin plastic or aluminum, it may also serve as packaging for delivery of the oral patch or blob to the consumer.  
         [0019]     Many different compositions can be used to form the network. For ease of manufacturing, it is convenient if the network is comprised of a thermo gel having a melting temperature higher than human mouth temperatures. This allows the entire mixture to be a liquid at temperatures far above human mouth temperatures and allows the network to be formed by cooling the mixture such that the thermo gel forms the desired network by a gelation process. The temperature at which the gel forms can be lower than human mouth temperatures, provided the temperature at which it melts again is higher than human mouth temperatures.  
         [0020]     Readily available materials that form such a gel include agar, in various forms, carrageenan, in most of its forms, particularly kappa carrageenan, konjac gum, locust bean gum, and xanthan gum. All of these materials form a thermo gel that is sufficiently elastic or plastic or a combination thereof for the network to feel soft in the human mouth if it is adequately hydrated. If water is dried out of the network, it will become hard and will produce an unattractive feel when placed in contact with sensitive tissues, such as mouth sores. To prevent the network from drying out, it may be packaged with a hermetic seal or a non-evaporating plasticizer, such as glycerol (glycerin) may be added. However, the more glycerol is added the less adherent the oral patch or blob will be.  
         [0021]     Synthetic hydrogels may be used for either the network that does not melt at mouth temperatures or the adherent, liquid polymer. Protein-based hydrogels are usually prepared using proteins extracted from natural sources, but they may be synthesized, such as with diblock copolypeptide amphiphiles, as taught by Nowak, et. al, “Rapidly Recovering Hydrogel Scaffolds From Self-Assembling Diblock Copolypeptide Amphiphiles”. Nowak, A. P.; Breedveld, V.; Pakstis, L.; Ozbas, B.; Pine, D. J.; Pochan, D.; Deming, T. J.  Nature,  2002, 417, 424-428. The use of synthetic materials allows adjustment of copolymer chain length and composition. Synthetic hydrogels may also be made from polysaccharides and synthetic block copolymers which form thermoreversible gels and allow the solubilisation of hydrophobic medications for controlled release, as taught by Williams, P A, at the Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, North East Wales Institute, Plas Coch, Mold Road, Wrexham, Wales.  
         [0022]     Instead of forming the network with a true hydrogel, the network may be formed with a complex carbohydrate, such as cellulose, pectin, starch, maltodextrin or other polysaccharides. Forming of hydrated network structures out of such materials is well known in the candy making industry for making gummy candies. Or the network may be formed with a combination of a true hydrogel and a complex carbohydrate.  
         [0023]     For desirable adhesion and erosion characteristics in an adherent oral patch or blob, the mixture may include a hydrophilic polymer that is liquid at human mouth temperatures. Collagen molecules, such as gelatin rendered from animal protein, such as from pork or cattle skin or from fish, serve very well as this ingredient. Collagen molecules tend to adhere very well to the tissues of the mouth lining, which themselves, are collagen molecules. The collagen molecules may be partially hydrolyzed, making them shorter and lower in molecular weight, in the form of commercially available gelatin, such as from pork skin or cattle hooves or from fish. These gelatins are graded according to “bloom strength” which refers to the strength of the gel that is formed. Gelatin having a higher bloom strength is preferred for the adherent oral patch or blob because it also has a higher viscosity in liquid form. The high viscosity in liquid form prevents the gelatin molecules from escaping the network substantially faster than the network erodes, and the high viscosity better retains the medication for slow release. The highest commercially available bloom strength, 250, is preferred.  
         [0024]     The adherent oral patch or blob is suitable for use with all of the medications mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,861 issued to Friedman, including steroids, such as a glucocorticoid steroids, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen sodium, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and ketoprofen. The medication may also be an antimicobial, such as an anti-fungal for treatment of candida organisms (thrush), such as nystatin, clotrimazole, miconazole, or fluconazole. Such medications also include medications such as tetracycline, penicillin, amoxicillin, troclosan, licorice root extract, glycyrrhetinic acid or amlexanox.  
         [0025]     If the network is formed of a hydrogel as described above, the oral patch or blobs may be manufactured by processes well known in the candy making industry. The process is to form a well-hydrated mixture at temperatures just below the boiling temperature of water so that water does not boil off and yet the hydrogels are fully activated for gelling when the product is cooled. In this process, the network can be formed of a combination of a true hydrogel such as xanthan gum with locust bean gum or with konjac gum and a complex carbohydrate such as cellulose or pectin or starch. For the medication licorice root extract, an effective ratio by weight is 56% water, 16% gelatin, 11% licorice extract, 10% cellulose, 4.8% glycerol, and 2.2% gums such as kappa carrageenan or xanthan gum plus locust bean gum or konjac gum heated to 200 degrees F.  
         [0026]     For most applications, most users prefer that the oral patch or blobs be medium dry to dry. With this starting dryness, the oral patch or blobs are more adherent and have more integrity so they can be removed for talking or eating and then replaced. The only drawback to this dryness is that the oral patch or blob becomes hard when it dries, giving the oral patch or blob a less soothing feel. It is also less conforming and therefore does not stick well to hard surfaces such as guns and teeth. When the oral patch or blob is placed in contact with delicate tissue, such as a large sore, most users prefer that the oral patch or blob be moist and soft. Thus, it is preferable to package the oral patch or blobs with a film that allows moisture to pass so moisture can easily be added to or removed from the oral patch or blobs without removing them from the packaging. If the packaging film is a barrier to germs, this allows the oral patch or blobs to remain sterile and not grow mold even when they are moist. Effective films are cellophane, polystyrene, polybutadiene, polyamide, Tyvek (matted polyethylene threads) and expanded films such as Goretex. Polyamide with a thickness of 0.7 mil to 1.0 mil is effective. Allowing such a package to sit for a day or two with a few drops of water on the package is sufficient to hydrate the oral patch or blob inside. Conversely, allowing the package to sit on a shelf in a dry room for one to three days is sufficient to dry out the oral patch or blob.  
         [0027]     To cause the patch or blob to dissolve very slowly in saliva, a binder that dissolves slowly in saliva is incorporated. Binders that have been tested and found to work well include carrageenan (preferably kappa), xanthan gum combined with konjac gum, and agar. Another useable gum is gum arabic. Other gums similar to those listed, such as locust bean gum which has properties similar to konjac gum, and guar gum should also work.  
         [0028]     In addition to causing the patch or blob to dissolve very slowly in the mouth, the binder also moderates any strong flavors by spreading out over a long period of time the release of that flavor. Consequently, sweeteners and other products to mask strong flavors are not required, although some users prefer a small amount of sweetener and some also prefer the addition of anise or other flavors.  
         [0029]     Alternatively, instead of depositing a hydrated mixture onto cornstarch molds, the mixture is deposited as an array of hot, viscous drops onto a sheet of high temperature plastic or coated paper. The drops are allowed to cool and then the sheets of plastic or coated paper with the drops on them are dried in a drying room or oven till the water activity level less than 0.8. The product is sold still adhered to the plastic or paper and the user pulls it off the plastic or paper.  
         [0030]     A preferred process for producing oral patches or blobs suitable for binding to orthodontic hardware such as dental braces begins by mixing ingredients including water and hydrophilic polymers, such as food gums or synthetic polymers such as carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxymethylcellulose, polyacrylic acid, or carbopol-934. Other ingredients that should be released as the finished product dissolves or erodes, such as flavoring, coloring, a medication, or and ingredient to aid erosion/dissolution, may be added. To retain flexibility in the finished product, a non-evaporating plasticizer, such as glycerol (glycerin) may be added within the structural network formed by the polymers. However, the more glycerol is added the less adherent the oral patch or blob will be.  
         [0031]     For ease of manufacturing, it is convenient if the polymers form a thermo gel having a melting temperature higher than human mouth temperatures. This allows the entire mixture to be a liquid at temperatures far above human mouth temperatures and allows the deposited blob to become strong by cooling the mixture such that the thermo gel forms a strong blob by a gelation process. The temperature at which the gel forms can be lower than human mouth temperatures, provided the temperature at which it melts again is higher than human mouth temperatures.  
         [0032]     Readily available materials that form such a gel include many of the food gums, such as agar, in various forms, carrageenan, in most of its forms, particularly kappa carrageenan, konjac gum, locust bean gum, and xanthan gum. All of these materials form a thermo gel that is sufficiently elastic or plastic or a combination thereof to feel soft in the human mouth if it is adequately hydrated. However, gelation after deposition is not required. The blobs can remain tacky and viscous while they are drying.  
         [0033]     As or after the mixture is prepared, it may be heated to reduce viscosity or to activate or prevent gelation or to minimize growth of bacteria during manufacturing. For the latter purpose, a temperature at or above 140 degrees F. is preferred. To avoid complications of boiling, the mixture should be kept below the boiling temperature, which because molecules are dissolved in the water, may be about 215 degrees F. Within this range, the temperature may be selected by manufacturing considerations. A temperature range of 160 degrees to 180 degrees has been found effective.  
         [0034]     The hot mixture is poured or squirted into molds. The molds be may open top molds or closed molds. Open top molds may be formed by pressing a plug into powdered starch such as cornstarch or may be formed in a tray for packaging the products such as thermo formed PVC or PET or a cold press laminate of aluminum and PVC with a thin layer of polyamide for strength. Closed molds may be used such as in an injection-molding machine. Because the mixture typically requires about 2 hours to form a strong enough oral patch or blob for de-molding, it is preferable to intermittently move trays of two-part molds, upper and lower, under pump depositer injector nozzles. The nozzles fit into holes in the upper mold located at the center of each oral patch or blob. After de-molding, the upper molds are used again for another batch. The lower molds may be plastic lined, in which case the plastic becomes a part of the final packaging. A suitable size for each oral patch or blob is 0.8 grams poured into the mold.  
         [0035]     The height of each blob relative to its width is a function of the viscosity of the mixture as it is deposited. The width and height of each blob are adjusted by changing viscosity and the amount of material in each blob to achieve a preferred shape. If the blobs are deposited in powdered starch, the starch absorbs some of the excess water and the blobs are further dried in a drying room before being removed from the starch and packaged.  
         [0036]     If the oral patches or blobs are deposited in molds formed in a tray, the tray is stored in a drying room until the oral patches or blobs lose a suitable amount of moisture. A suitable method of drying in trays is to expose them without convection to room temperature and humidity for 3 days or, with convection, for 24 hours. In the drying process, the oral patches or blobs lose about 47% of their weight, so an oral patch or blob that started at 0.8 grams poured into the mold becomes 0.42 grams. The trays are then sealed with a film or foil lid that is adhered by conventional heat-sealing techniques and the entire package is sterilized with gamma radiation or heat and pressure in a retort.  
         [0037]     Depositors used in the candy making industry are suitable, such as depositors made by NID of Australia. One process is to form a well-hydrated mixture at temperatures above the activation temperature and below the boiling temperature of water so that water does not boil off and yet the hydrogels are fully activated for gelling when the product is cooled. In this process, the mixture can be formed of a combination of a true hydrogel such as xanthan gum with locust bean gum or with konjac gum and a complex carbohydrate such as cellulose or pectin or starch. For a patch or blob with the medication licorice root extract, an effective ratio by units of weight is 9690 units water, 1640 units gelatin, 724 units licorice extract, 960 units cellulose, and 274 units of xanthan gum mixed with konjac gum heated to between 140 and 200 degrees F.  
         [0038]     For cost reasons, it is advantageous to deposit the blobs directly onto a thermoplastic sheet that can be used as part of the final package. Suitable materials include, nylon, polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene. A suitable thickness is 0.030 inches. The sheets can then be placed in a drying room and then covered with a sheet of lid stock such as metal foil or thin plastic coated with sealant. The process can be done on individual sheets on individual trays of any suitable size for running through the depositor or can be done with continuous roll sheet material which runs through a long drying chamber.  
         [0039]     If the oral patches or blobs are deposited onto a tray (or sheet on a tray), the tray is stored in a drying room until the oral patch or blobs lose a suitable amount of moisture. A suitable method of drying is to expose the blobs to room temperature and humidity for 3 days with or without convection. If convection is used, the sheets can be closely stacked. Refrigeration type dehumidifiers can lower the humidity to 30% which is quite sufficient. The drying process can be taken to any desired level of dryness, such as dry enough that microorganisms will not grow.  
         [0040]     The drying process converts a blob to a thin disc. For an oral patch or blob, the shape shown in  FIG. 1 ( b ) is preferred. The thickest point is in the center and it gently tapers toward the edges until the final edge is rounded, not square or sharp. The ratio of maximum thickness to diameter can be adjusted by changing the viscosity of the mixture.  
         [0041]     To prevent the discs from gaining or losing moisture, they may be packaged with a hermetic seal. Alternatively, the oral patch or blobs may be packaged with a base or lidstock film that allows moisture to pass so moisture can easily be added to or removed from the oral patch or blobs without removing them from the packaging. If the packaging film is a barrier to germs, this allows the oral patch or blobs to remain sterile and not grow mold even when they are moist. Effective films are cellophane, polystyrene, poybutadiene, polyamide, Tyvek (matted polyethylene threads) and expanded films such as Goretex. Polyamide with a thickness of 0.7 mil to 1.0 mil is effective. Allowing such a package to sit for a day or two with a few drops of water on the package is sufficient to hydrate the oral patch or blob inside. Conversely, allowing the package to sit on a shelf in a dry room for one to three days is sufficient to dry out the oral patch or blob.  
         [0042]     The base sheets are sealed with a film or foil lid that is adhered by conventional sealing techniques. Hot or cold sealant may be used by printing the sealant in a suitable pattern onto the base sheet or onto the lid stock. Or the lid stock can be coated with heat sealant and a platen with recesses can press the sheets together onto an anvil where the anvil or the platen is heated. The recesses prevent the dried discs from being squashed or excessively heated. The platen and anvil may be in the form of rollers with either or both of them heated, or one of them may be flat while the other is flat except for recesses. The platen can be pressed with a hydraulic press or a pneumatic press.  
         [0043]     If the lid stock is aluminum foil, the discs may be released from the packaging by pushing them through the foil. Pressing flat lid stock onto a flat sheet with discs between them requires that the base sheet or the top sheet (or both) flexes (stretches) to avoid wrinkles. The aluminum will be most stretchy if it is not tempered. Although standard aluminum lid stock coated with heat sealant is high temper, it is preferable to order custom foil with zero temper. The sheets that have been sealed together are cut into cards of suitable shape, such as by die cutting. Cards that easily fit in a pocket are preferred, such as 2.3 inches by 3.4 inches. The entire package may be sterilized with gamma radiation or heat and pressure in a retort.  
         [0044]     For medication to be placed in the patch or blob, any of the above-mentioned antimicrobials, or similar antimicrobials, may be used. Using glycyrrhetinic acid presents significant advantages over pharmaceutical antibiotics because, in the quantities that a person could use per day, no side affects have been discovered. The preferred quantity of glycyrrhetinic acid in each patch or blob is 5 to 7%.  
         [0000]     Contact Dematitis  
         [0045]     Sores from braces can also be caused or exacerbated by metal ions, especially nickel ions, which elute from stainless steel braces. Topical glucocorticoids or antihistamines can be incorporated into the patch or blob to treat the resultant contact dermatitis. Examples of suitable topical glucocorticoids include but are not limited to those described on pages 1799 and 1800 of Goodman &amp; Gilman&#39;s “The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics” 10 th  Edition (McGraw-Hill, 2001). Representative examples of the topical glucocorticoids that can be incorporated into oral patches or blobs to treat mouth sores caused by orthodontic braces include dexoximethasone, triamcinolone acetonide, mometasone furoate, and hydrocortisone.  
         [0046]     Antihistamines can also be incorporated in the patch or blob to relieve contact dermatitis caused by the braces. Examples of antihistamines (H 1 -Receptor Antagonists) that can be incorporated into the patch or blob to alleviate the contact dermatitis caused by the braces include but are not limited to doxepin hydrochloride, diphenhydramine hydrochloride, pyrilamine maleate, azelastine hydrochloride, and levocabastine hydrochloride.  
         [0047]     If the user catches the sore early, shorter treatment is required. The sore will often start in a small cut. Some users report that if they apply one patch or blob to a cut for 1-4 hours before there is any sensation of a sore, then they will not get a mouth sore from the cut. Other times, the sore starts with a feeling that the mucous layer is becoming too thin in a spot before it becomes painful. Some users report that if they apply one patch or blob to that spot, no mouth sore develops. Some users report that if they begin applying the patch or blob when the mouth sore is very small and barely painful, only 24 hours of treatment is required, but if they wait until the sore is as large as a tomato seed, then they need 48 hours of treatment before it starts to heal.  
         [0000]     Treatment of the Tongue:  
         [0048]     For treatment of the tongue, most users stick a patch or blob that releases medication on both sides to the closest tooth. This works particularly well at night.  
         [0049]     Because use of antibiotics, antibacterials, and other pharmaceutical antimicrobials causes adverse side affects, experimentation with these medications has been limited. However, sufficient experimentation was done with amoxicillin on conventional patches to determine that it works quite well. Conventional amoxicillin powder for preparation of oral suspension was used, which includes sugars and other excipients. The sugars act as a binder to the oral patch. The oral suspension is mixed into the patch or blob and dried. Preferably, the amoxicillin powder is mixed into a stronger than normal liquid before being added to the patch or blob.  
         [0050]     The following show non-limiting examples of oral patch or blobs used for the above-described method for treating sores caused by orthodontic braces.  
       EXAMPLE 1  
       [0051]     An embodiment of an oral patch or blob to be used in the methods of the present invention is comprised of the following ingredients 
    Gelatin 50%     Glycyrrhetinic acid (potassium salt) 5%     Benzocaine 8%     Konjac-xanthan gum 8%     Glycerol 5%     Short cellulose fibers 15%     Calcium H phosphate 5%     Xylitol 4% 
 
 The CaHPO4 is to neutralize nearby acids and release ions that are good for teeth. 
   
 
       EXAMPLE 2  
       [0060]     The following shows an example for ranges of ingredients in one example of a patch or blob and an example of how a patch or blob can be produced. 
    Active for numbing: benzocaine—a light amount, 3% to 8%, 5% is preferred.     Other active: Glycyrrhetinic acid, 4% to 7%, 5% preferred, or triclosan, 0.3% to 3%, 0.5% is preferred.     Structural ingredients:     30-60% gelatin, 55% preferred     5%-8% konjac gum and xanthan gum premixed from Gum Technologies, 7% preferred     8%-20% glycerol (glycerin), 15% preferred     0%-30% cellulose fiber, 15% preferred 
 
 The percentages are of dry ingredients. Add water to preferred consistency, 50-80% of the mixture, 70% is preferred. Heat to above 140 degrees F., stir, for more than 30 minutes for full hydration of gums. Deposit with a 1-3 mm nozzle onto polypropylene plastic sheet blobs that are 8-13 mm across, preferably 10 mm. Dry with convection until equilibrates with air of 45% humidity or less (preferred 40% humidity) at room temperature. 
   
 
         [0068]     While particular embodiments of the invention have been described above the scope of the invention should not be limited by the above descriptions but rather limited only by the following claims.