Army Develops New Chewing Gum

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!"

Comments

Some people already do this!

[mpathetiq]

I know several who think that simply chewing a stick of gum after a meal is a sufficient replacement for a full brushing. Damn Trident marketing.

These people also tend to have the DemonBreath from Hell TM.

Re:Some people already do this!

[Mark of THE CITY]

Trident's ad pitch the virtues of sugarless gum. Dentyne uses, or used, the slogan "Brush your breath with Dentyne."

Re:Some people already do this!

[SacredNaCl]

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.

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

Nothing really new there

[Pig Hogger]

Nothing really new there, NASA astro-nuts had teeth-cleaning gum for years.

Re:Sounds nice, but the dentist told me...

[Anonymous Coward]

that's a load of shit.

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...

[cocoamix]

I work in the field of dental research. (I work in a lab, so I never have to dig in anyone's mouth, ew).

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.