Army Develops New Chewing Gum 302
IEBEYEBALL writes "The Army is developing a new chewing gum to help soldiers fight dental problems in the field. The gum takes the place of brushing teeth, which the soldier in a combat situation might not have time or means to do. This sounds like the perfect solution for the geek on the go!"
Some people already do this! (Score:5, Informative)
These people also tend to have the DemonBreath from Hell TM.
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2)
http://www.sugarboy.co.uk/acatalog/Wrigley_s_Ice_
Don't think it actually works... nice idea though.
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:3, Insightful)
In any case, I work 30+ hours at a time, sometimes without a break or sleep and its all I have time to do. For me it seems to work, I've not had one cavity in the last 4 years since working like this. I did have one in the past when I brushed more regularly. I'm just one person, though, so take it for what it is worth (which isn't much).
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:3, Interesting)
I saw a documentary a few years ago where they found a pile of 2000 year old Roman skeletons that were trapped in a cave that had been sealed by a volcanic eruption. Since the Romans usually burnt their dead this was a rare find. It was interesting because their teeth were absolutely perfect They did not brush their teeth or have dentists yet they had no cav
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2)
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2)
I didn't know they brushed their teeth but we brush our teeth and still have to see a dentist every 6 months. It's pretty rare to find someone that has never had a cavity or crooked teeth. There was a complete range of age with the skeletons from infant to elderly and not perso
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, you are the exception not the rule. But, 12 years since anyone's looked at your teeth. You could very well have multiple cavities and not even know or worse yet the beginning stages of gum disease. Just because you are not in pain doesn't mean your teeth are healthy.
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2)
Of course, no one wants to give up their sugar or white bread (unless it's part of a fashionable but short lived diet plan atkins) so no one really listens:
http://www.google.ca/search?q= [google.ca]
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2, Interesting)
Seeing as how the gum probably doesn't contain fluoride, I think we can say pretty safely that chewing it is not as good as brushing.
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:5, Informative)
The gum probably isn't as good as brushing, but that has to do with reasons of bacteria forming what is called a biofilm which needs to be broken up to be eliminated readily. A good brushing action is more effecting than the chewing action of gum.
This is nothing to do with fluoride. Fluoride would be counter productive here. The only circumstances people benefit from low dose topical fluoride is when they are children, and the effect is rather unremarkable. You can look at places that use it, and don't use, and not see any tangible benefit in dental outcomes outside of a few years in the teens. Once adulthood sets in, fluoridated areas fare worse in several outcome measures than non-fluoridated. Once adulthood sets in and the teeth are formed, as in the case of combat soldiers, it becomes entirely counterproductive. Its also counterproducive when the dose is excessive, as in the case of many cities in the USA where they have fluoridated water, use fluoride toothpaste, and consume numerous products (cereals, beer [used to stop brewing process in American beers], other beverages, plant stores like tea..etc) that contain fluoride compounds, in addition exposure through the air from steel, aluminum, nuclear materials production, other metals, phosphate fertilizer manufacture, and burning coal.
The teeth are not the only part of the body affected by fluoride as well. It has been shown to store in the bones and cause brittle bones, a demonstratable increase in hip fractures, it is neurotoxic (which has been demonstrated on multilple species of animals and people working in nuclear processing and aluminum manufacturing facilities) can cause confusion, delerium, decrease in intelligence and other damage to the nervous system that does not appear to be short term, it can lead to arthritic changes in the joints, there is also the matter of a demonstrable increase in bone cancer in boys, dental fluorsis, skeletal fluorosis, damage to the spine and nerves in the spine. It is a cumulative poison, and one of the more toxic ones in regular use.
The military actually tried high dose fluoride treatments in combat situations to prevent tooth decay. They did this in Vietnam, every 6 months soldiers in the field would be called back to use a high dose fluoride tooth paste, and a high dose multicompound fluoride rinse. The results are what you would except, a very short term decline in dental carries, as the fluorsing effects did indeed make the outer enamel shell of the tooth harder, but this occured at the expense the material inside of the tooth. A year later their teeth were crumbling & they were far worse off than those who had not had the treatment at all. The only benefit was short term, it allowed the warfighter to stay out in the field without breaks for dental care for a few months at the expense of damage to all of their teeth later.
There are other methods that could be employed with a delivery device like gum that would likely be more effective. Zinc gluconate and folic acid in a gum would make a very inhospitable environment for bacteria, you could also add antibacterial enzymes and low dose calcium to the gum. Zinc gluconate mouthwashes have demonstrated a high effectiveness for reducing bacteria and resulting decay. Folic acid washes reduce gum inflammation (thus the size of the pockets bacteria can get into to create problems). Antibacterial enzymes are used commercially already in dental mouthwashes such as biotene with a fair degree of effectiveness. Xylitol is also in wide use, though it is not as effective as the other methods. It will be interesting to see what their gum product actually contains. Even just increasing the saliva flow would be good in this environment. Stress tends to reduce the flow, and allows decay to set in faster. The body itself has means to deal with bacteria in the mouth, our normal state is not rotting t
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:3, Funny)
http://klomdark.servebeer.com:8081/MessageBase2/R
Floride makes you complacent and submissive.
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:4, Interesting)
I guess the Institute of Medicine, the National Research Council, the US Dept of Health, the Center for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization are all in on it too, right? This conspiracy reaches much further than we thought!
The WHO (World Health Organization) concurs with my position. The CDC does not, but I wouldn't expect them to. They are responsible for the addition of fluoride into the water in the first place, as was the sturcture of our government at the time. No, I am not talking exposures "125 times", I am talking about mere factor of 2 to 3, and one that is easily exceeded in a substance as toxic as fluorine compounds are as the quantities involved are very minute.
You mean like the people who ramble on and on about a fluoride conspiracy and then wonder why their teeth are messed up and full of cavities?
He would be in rather good company:
Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have banned fluoride in the water, and several have gone as far as ban a wide variety of fluoride containing products. It seems countries with socialized dental programs figured out it didn't work out on the balance sheet. Their teeth are fine, and on average, in better health than the teeth of similarly situated countries who allow its use.
Proposals go up every year to ban the use of fluoridated salt as well. People who scream that criticism of fluoride is based merely on far out conspiracies have never stopped to look into just how low of a dose can cause very severe health consequence. In countries where fluoride occurs naturally in the water, and they lack the technology or financial means to effectively remove it, you can compare their consumption levels to our own.(Parts of the US use water with high levels of naturally occuring fluoride as well, and when remediation isn't taken, they end up with the same health effects.) The margin of difference between having a fair portion of your society sick from fluoride and escaping the worst (but not the mild & moderate effects of toxicity) is not high at all. Its often less than a factor of 2.
When I see a village in India, or Pakistan, or Sudan, or Kenya, or Peru with 20-30% of the inhabitants clearly suffering from excess fluoride exposure,and their water levels come back a mere 3.02 and we have 1.0 in the water here, then compare dietary exposures, and it brings their total adjusted exposure to 4.12 and ours to 2.78
It is plainly obvious to see that the US Government is not telling the truth when they say there are no measurable consequences to using less than 8ppm of fluoride in the water and diet. Cases of fluoride toxicity in the US itself show it merely takes longer if the exposure levels are in the 3.0-7.9 range. Cases from around the world show that a mere 3.12 in the water is enough to substantially affect the health of a large number of residents over time. Even the EPA's MCL of 4.0 is ovbiously set too high. (Of course, when they try to lower it, the bosses at the EPA tend to put them on unpaid leave and the union has to step in to sue to get peoples
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:3, Informative)
Wrong. See WHO Monograph "Fluorides and Human Health", series 59 (1970).
Only had to read the first sentence that time :).
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:4, Informative)
Just a quick scan of the literature in my own collection:
Fluoride and bone cancer (Osteosarcomsa)
1. Maurer JY, Cheng MC, Boysen BG, Anderson RL. Two-year carcinogenicity study of sodium fluoride in rats. Journal, National Cancer Institute 82 111811261990. [Found significant dose-related increase in osteosarcoma incident in male rats, in addition, found fluoride correlation with thyroid follicular cell adenomas, and a rare type of liver cancer.]
2. Hoover RN, Devesa S, Cantor K, Fraurneni JF Jr. Time trends for bone and joint cancers and osteosarcomas in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, National Cancer Institute. In: Review of Fluoride: Benefits and Risks, Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Fluoride of the Committee to Coordinate Environmental Health and Related Programs. US Public Health Service, 1991 pp F 1 -177. [Found higher incidence of bone cancer in males 20 and under in fluoridated vs non-fluoridated area. Did not control for halo effect unfortunately.]
3. Cohn PD. A brief report on the association of drinking water fluoridation and the incidence of osteosarcoma among young males. New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton NJ November 8 1992. [While Cohn could not eliminate other sources of carcenogens, he found a clear and convincing association and correlation with water fluoridation and the incidence of osteosarcoma. Quote directly from study: "Thus it can be seen that, for these populations, the chance of osteosarcoma for males age 10-19 years was 6.9 times higher in the fluoridated municipalities."]
No or scant evidence of protection from Fluoridation or Fluoride exposure in dental carries reduction:
1. Hildebolt CF, Elvin-Lewis H, Molnar S et al. Caries prevalences among geochemical regions of Missouri. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 78 79-92 1989.
2. Yiamouyiannis J A. Water fluoridation and tooth decay results from the 1986- 1987 national survey of US schoolchildren. Fluoride 23 55-67 1990
3. Brunelle JA, Carlos JP. Recent trends in dental caries in US children and the effect of water fluoridation. Journal of Dental research 69 (Special Issue) 7237281990.
4. Attwood D, Blinkhorn AS. Dental health in school children 5 years after water fluoridation ceased in south-west. Scotland. Dent J. 1991 Feb;41(1):43-8.[No evidence that removing the fluoride affects dental carries levels.]
5. Kobayashi S, Kawasaki K, Takagi O, Nakamura M, Fujii N, Shinzato M, Maki Y, Takaesu Y. Caries experience in subjects 18-22 years of age after 13 years' discontinued water fluoridation in Okinawa. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1992 Apr;20(2):81-3. [No evidence of increase in dental carries after 13 years of fluoridation being ceased.]
6. Kalsbeek H, Kwant GW, Groeneveld A, Dirks OB, van Eck AA, Theuns HM. Caries experience of 15-year-old children in The Netherlands after discontinuation of water fluoridation. Caries Res. 1993;27(3):201-5. [More of the same, no statistically signicant evidence of increase in dental carries when fluoridation ceases.]
7. Seppa L, Karkkainen S, Hausen H. Caries frequency in permanent teeth before and after discontinuation of water fluoridation in Kuopio, Finland. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1998 Aug;26(4):256-62. [Again, evidence did not favor fluoridation looking at before addition, during addition, and after removal of fluoride].
8. Kunzel W, Fischer T. Caries prevalence after cessation of water fluoridation in La Salud, Cuba. Caries Res. 2000 Jan-Feb;34(1):20-5. [Found a slight decrease in carried after fluoridation was ceased.]
9. Burt BA, Keels MA, Heller KE. The effects of a break in water fluoridation on the development of dental caries and fluorosis. J Dent Res
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:3, Insightful)
Wow. One instance of anecdotal evidence. I'm sold. WE MUST ATTACK THE EVIL FLUORIDE CONSPIRACY! We must remove this lethal toxin from our waters and toothpastes! I mean, nobody really dies from brushing their teeth properly w
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:2, Funny)
These people also tend to have the DemonBreath from Hell TM.
smells like someone shit in a spearmint bush
Re:Some people already do this! (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, but look on the plus side. The foul reeking alkaloid residues in our mouth do make our bite fatal to less habituated (weaker) humanoids. Just the thing to put smile on your face after an all-night coding session, albeit a bit of a yellow one.
BTW just to stay somewhat on topic, doesn't each MRE come with so
Everyone. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Everyone. (Score:2)
Cue the... (Score:2, Funny)
"Enroll, and Blow"
Re:Everyone. (Score:5, Insightful)
Sell it to the public and it doesn't work; "You owe me $1M for each tooth that fell out!"
Seriously, most stuff designed for the military eventually makes it into the consumer market. Just a matter of time.
Re:Everyone. (Score:3, Insightful)
Totally! I mean, since the Revolutionary War our continental army has made no improvements at all in soldier hygiene, survivability, casualty rates, the human cost of achieving tactical and strategic objectives, the physical and psychological recovery of wounded soldiers, the minimization of civilian casualties and collateral damage, or any other aspect of an army's health and safety records. Naturally, this gum will be just one more empt
Re:Everyone. (Score:2)
Why bother to improve when all you really need is to keep a good percentage of your population impoverished. That wa
NOT!!! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:NOT!!! (Score:2)
Of course I keep a toothbrush and toothpaste at work just to make sure I remember to brush daily.
Once Again, Correlation != Causality (Score:5, Insightful)
<sigh>, when will Slashdot get it... once again, Correlation does not equate to Causality!
For example, sick people are not on the go. Geeks are not on the go, ergo geeks must be sick! Doesn't make sense, does it?
Now, that geeks are not on the go is supported by the fact that I'm sitting here on a lovely Saturday afternoon writing this. I'm certainly not on the go. However it's not because I'm not on the go that I'm sitting here posting on /., rather it's the other way around. I'm sitting here posting, which is preventing me from being on the go. Thus not being on the go is an effect rather than the actual cause.
Or something. I think I need some fresh air. :)
Blockwars [blockwars.com]: a free multiplayer, head to head game!
News just in from Singapore! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:News just in from Singapore! (Score:2)
Sure, there are regulations, but I doubt the US government would get into any trouble over it.
treading gum... (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing really new there (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Nothing really new there (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Nothing really new there (Score:2)
Re:Nothing really new there (Score:2)
Re:Nothing really new there (Score:3, Informative)
After a little googling, I found this [thewritersedge.com] (scroll down the page a bit to find the explaination) which explains a little more about it.
Re:Nothing really new there (Score:5, Insightful)
Astronauts can brush their teeth much the way they do on Earth, with just a few minor changes. They can't leave the water running the way some people do, and they can't spit and rinse the toothpaste. They must either swallow it or spit it into a towel. Astronauts do have several dental aids. In weightlessness, salivation becomes more concentrated, which can lead to more tartar forming on the teeth. To prevent this, many astronauts chew gum and massage their gums to keep their mouths healthier.
Because if that is where this happened before then you are really stretching your interpertation of the article. I see nothing here to indicate that the astronauts aren't just chewing normal gum because of spitty mouths. I do see something here to indicate that the astronauts brush their teeth like normal folks on Earth.
This product, if tasty enough, could really change dental care for children and others in situations where they don't have their toothbrush and clean water. It's kinda a natural evolution of gum, I'm just surprised that it's only in recent years that the whitening gums and now cleaning gums are being developed.
where does it stop? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:where does it stop? (Score:2)
If the army wants good teeth for its soldiers, they should simply eat more natural foods. That's foods with less or no additives. Over the past 17 years I have come across many Africans in the US. I mean those who grew up on the African cont
Re:where does it stop? (Score:2)
Re:where does it stop? (Score:2)
Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:5, Interesting)
However, I'm impressed that the Army has finally found something of use for both soldiers and really lazy people.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:2)
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:2)
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:4, Insightful)
- People who floss tend to have better personal hygine overall.
- People who have better personal hygine tend to take care of themselves more.
- People who take care of themselves more tend to live longer and healthier.
Therefore, flossing doesn't *cause* you to live longer/healthier. Flossing is an *effect* of having good personal hygine, which can help you live longer/healthier.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:3, Funny)
You might want to reverse the order of those list items.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:5, Insightful)
One of the important things about toothpaste in general is the flouride. The flouride helps calcium present in your saliva precipitate out, and prevent incipient cavities from worsening. My Dad by the time he was 20 had many fillings. Thanks to the better toothpaste formulations, I'm 33 and still don't have a single filling - no tooth pain - no gum bleeding. I don't religiously floss my teeth every day either. Just brush my teeth with flouride toothpaste after each meal.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:2)
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:5, Informative)
The thing that really helps prevent cavities in your SALIVA. The bacteria in your mouth, streptococcus mutans, eats the sugar in your mouth. A byproduct of this is lactic acid, which breaks down the mineral in your enamel and dentin. Saliva acts as an acid buffer to prevent this. In addition there is a protein "web" called the pellicle layer which also protects teeth from acid and erosion.
Chewing gum stimulates saliva flow, which buffers the acid. Heck, chewing on plain old beeswax will help.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:5, Informative)
Pot, kettle
what keaps cavities out is not the floride, althought one of it's chemical properties does retard the microbes that can reduce enimal layers and leach calcium.
Your teeth are made of a mineral called hydroxyapatite. Hydroxyapatite contains a hydroxide ion. There is a bacteria in the mouth (called S. Mutans) that produces an acid. This acid removes the hydroxide ion from the hydroxyapatite, making your teeth much, much weaker, leading to cavitites.
Fluoride ions (from toothpaste, drinking water, etc) replace the hydroxyide ions, creating fluoroapatite. Fluoroapatite is much, much more resistant to acid than hydroxyapatite, so the teeth are much, much stronger. Far less cavities occur.
It's simple high school chemistry. I guess someone wasn't paying attention in class.
It's the hot water recomended for not only comfort but to essectially disinfect your mouth.
You actually think that the hottest water that you can stand will kill bacteria? I've got a bridge in New York to sell you.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:2)
Those activities are appropriate regardless of whether or not fluoride is added to the water supply. They're not an alternative, they're what you're supposed to already be doing.
Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me... (Score:2)
No. To effectively kill bacteria, you have to raise the temperature to excess of 80 degrees Celcius (around 176 degF) for 15 minutes. Hotter temperatures take shorter times (such as the flash heating pasteurisation used for milk), but less than this won't kill the bugs.
Given that you cannot physically tolerate something this hot in your mouth, and nobody would do so for 15 minutes even if they could, hot water will
Finns had similar product already in seventies. (Score:2, Informative)
Xylitol-Jenkki, the first xylitol chewing gum in the world, was launched by the Finnish company Leaf in 1975.
http://www.xylitol.org/ [xylitol.org]
Re:Finns had similar product already in seventies. (Score:2)
Re:The trouble with xylitol (Score:2)
the perfect solution, except... (Score:2)
But it seems like a solution without a problem, as far as geeks are concerned. It's not like brushing takes a long time, or is unpleasant. It's worse to not brush, in the short term and in the long term.
Read between the lines. (Score:2)
Gum was considered an ideal solution because the Army already issues gum to soldiers in their field rations...
Understand? It does not taste good enough to include in *MREs.*
I think that says ALL you need to know about the taste at this point.
Noooo (Score:5, Funny)
Muck, Ready to Eat (Score:2)
Thankfully, I was only a reservist and didn't have to live on the goddamn things for very long.
Mmmmm... Beef brick, Pork Brick, mushy chicken in something... good times. The best part was sneaking the hot cocoa p
Chew 'em if you got 'em (Score:2, Interesting)
The army believed otherwise and encouraged you to at least keep a few. There were requirements to have some number of teeth to get into airborn and you'd see recruits desperately trying to ke
Re:Chew 'em if you got 'em (Score:3, Informative)
The bills you get afterward aren't such a comfort, either. They take full advantage of you if you don't have insurance.
Re:Chew 'em if you got 'em (Score:2, Insightful)
But what makes my case special, is that I was born with a syndrome that made my teeth soft, and perfectly acceptible to cavities. During a routine dential check, it was apparent that my teeth were going to cause more touble than w
Hyperplastia? (Score:2)
My grandfather had many more teeth with the same condition, and ended up with dentures at the age of eighteen or so.
Fortunately, I only had one of them, and it was right at the back. So when I had my wisdom t
Bad teeth? (Score:2, Interesting)
I always brushed and lossed. Flouride treatments and cleanings ahead of schedule. No good.
I have a mandibular excess, causing TMJ "pain" and massive nightly grinding. It was likely the source of my problem.
I saw a dentist in Poland about 7 years ago for a toothache. She explained to me the "conspiracy" of the ADA: pro-flouride, pro-abrasive cleanings, pro-short term fixes.
I did some research and found flouride is a poison
Yup (Score:2)
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
I have a mandibular excess, causing TMJ "pain" and massive nightly grinding.
Have you ever heard of Orthognathic surgery [stanford.edu]? It's getting pretty sophisticated now, using CT scans to develop 3D models and Computer-aided surgical planning [materialise.com] to assist doctors with surgery. It costs a fortune, but some health funds cover it. The company, Materialise, can use colour stereolithography [materialise.com] to make a prominent nerve that runs along the lower mandible visible within a transparent model. This helps Orthognathic surgeons, b
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
Unfortunately, the costs are tremendous, and I've spoken with many people online who had WORSE TMJ-related problems after the surgery. One lady spent over $160,000 and she's suicidal from the new pain. No thanks.
Plus, orthognathic surgery would change my profile and look -- in a notably good way (more attractive). My profile has always been part of my persona, even something I've sold myself with. Growing up feeling ugly and being able to turn it into an att
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
I just had the surgery in August and things are going fantastic. Although, my condition was not very drastic, it was just enough of a pain that I finally decided to go through with it. It cost me in the range of $30,000, including the models. My teeth were only wired for two weeks after the surgery. That was the time I had to be on a liquid diet. Strictly broth, milks (dairy, soy, rice for variety), and strained soups (the little pulp bits clog up your mouth).
Then they put rubber bands on, which I can rem
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
His solution fixed the problem without all of this crap. This crap is exactly what he was preaching against.
Let me tell you about fluoridation, Mandrake (Score:5, Funny)
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.
Copied gratuitiously from the IMDB Memorable Quotes [imdb.com] section. So you see, it's not a US plot. It's a commie plot.
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
The history of water fluoridation is really interesting. I don't believe in the benefits.
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2, Informative)
Look at the many, many studies showing the incidence of cavities in cities with fluoridated water and cities without fluoridation, the effect of fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash. Anyone who studied chemistry in college can explain it to you. Fluoride prevents cavities, period. Anyone who claims otherwise is a scientific fraud and/or kook.
In fact, due to the popularity of bottled water (which generally isn't fluorida
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
The damn studies are too vague to get a grasph on what is right and what is wrong. What I can tell is that many dentists admit that fluoride IS needed, but for only a very small portion of the population.
Another thing that helps my teeth is my "lower carb" diet. By reducing all my simple sugars entirely, I'
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
Re:Bad teeth? (Score:2)
I do agree that 3rd world dentistry can be horrid. The dentist I went to was a dentist for european movie stars and even politicians, which I trusted more than the jackasses I've been seeing for years in the states. I had a friend who had major work performed in India by a very highly respected oral surgeon, and his surgery ended up being only $3
What does it do for the breath? (Score:2)
Other news: Cola to replace flossing (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Other news: Cola to replace flossing (Score:2)
Obligatory Simpsons Reference: (Score:3, Funny)
Homer: No, but at least rinse your mouth out with soda.
Bart After Dark [snpp.com]
This could be really dangerous! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This could be really dangerous! (Score:2)
I came... (Score:2, Funny)
I came to chew bubblegum and spread freedom, and it looks like I'm all out of bubblegum.
Intentions are right (Score:2)
Those brave kids are giving their lives right now for what they believe in. They deserve all the kinds of support that can practically be provided.
Re:Intentions are right (Score:2)
Re:Intentions are right (Score:3, Interesting)
Oblig. Futurama Reference (Score:4, Funny)
Bender: And it pinkens your teeth while you chew!
The Army needs to invest in Oragenics (Score:3, Interesting)
If your so nasty you chew and have a sink... (Score:2)
Re:If your so nasty you chew and have a sink... (Score:2)
Wait.... (Score:2, Funny)
Harbinger of a more peaceful army? (Score:4, Funny)
MRE (Score:2, Funny)
Gouvernmet funded means overpriced chewing gum (Score:2)
In the end Wrigley [wrigley.com] will provide a chewing gum that costst $35 per package!
Ridiculous (Score:2)
We are a military nation (Score:2)
Re:Ummm... ok..... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Ummm... ok..... (Score:4, Informative)
You ask "how about investing the money
There are undreds of thousands of people on active duty in our military. Their health is hard to maintain in the field, and anything that assists in that, even if it costs a few million bucks, is well spent. Better body armor, better vehicles, and yes, better overall health from reducing gum disease as a vector for infection (especially overseas). Get a grip.
Re:Ummm... ok..... (Score:2)
um... is dental hygiene not important enough for you? Americans spent nearly $68 billion on dental services in 2002. [handsonhealth-sc.org]
We'll benefit from it, practically every technology for military use has filtered down to civilian use. Ever heard of the microwave? [inventiona...nology.com] Cell phone? [www.saab.se] How about GPS? [wikipedia.org]
If this only cost a few million I think this is money well spent!
Re:Oh Ya Right... (Score:2)