Agents that can help us in the fight against tooth decay are rife, and are being added to more and more toothpastes, mouthwash and a whole slew of products all aimed at preserving your chompers. From neem to tea tree oil to sea salt, olive oil and eucalyptus and mint, the host of active ingredients seems to be endless. The newest that I have come across is still in research phase, but is the extract of a bacterium called Bacillus licheniformis that lives on seaweed. The discovery of this bacterium first occurred in Newcastle University’s Marine Biology department, but soon attracted the attention of their Dental school, who have since been working on extracting the active, tooth decay fighting ingredients of this bacterium and using it in products safe for human consumption.