Slashdot Mirror
US Army Develops Tooth Cleaning Gum
pryoplasm writes "To help deal with some of the hygiene issues on the battlefield, the US Army worked on a gum to take the place of brushing your teeth. This might be eventually released and marketed to the public. While there are many gums out there that aren't so detrimental to your teeth, this one promises actually to help them out."
Clean it up with Orbit!
yeah, while they may not actually brush your teeth, there are already gum brands on the market that do help protect your teeth.
As a proud xylitol-chewing Finn, this would really help.
Hey, I thought thats what sugarless gum has been used for..... years now? Wonder what this development cost the military/US govt?
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
All kinds of military developments have filtered out to the civilian market.
Antiperspirant/deodorant. GPS. Radar. Microwave communication.
It's just how some things develop.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Your typical MRE has contained two little green squares of grainy gum, with this stated purpose, for years and years.
Works, too.
Amazing, they invented a gum that acts like gum!
It freshens your breath and whitens your teeth!
AMAZING!
"We came to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and we're all out of gum." Duke Nukem would be proud.
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. - Albert Einstein
..to prevent teeth related issues altogether.
We always had a good rumor that the "gum" in the MRE's was a laxative. I wonder what rumor will pop up about this gum.
A tooth cleaning gun would be way more cool, and would probably strike a lot more fear in the hearts of our enemies. God knows if I had a choice between a sit down with a military dentist and being waterboarded, I'd take the waterboarding as the more humane alternative (I'm an Air Force brat and the worst pain I've experienced in my 40 years of life so far was at the hands of an Air Force Dentist when I was 11 or 12.)
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Every time I see that quote attributed to Duke Nukem, I bristle. The original quote came from a 1988 movie called They Live, starring wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Keith David. I actually paid good money to go see that at a theater!
I guess Duke Nukem made the phrase famous, but still, it was blatantly stolen. The exact quote is:
In the movie, Roddy had just burst into a bank with shotguns looking to kill him some aliens. When he delivered the line, I thought I was going to die laughing, it was so over-the-top. Anyone who likes Duke Nukem should see the movie at some point to enjoy the original source of the quote in all of its glory.
If the army is handing it out, is it ham-flavored?
John
When one contemplates going to a military dentist, one also seriously considers using some shotgun mouthwash.
That explains a lot, actually
This was the original point of chewing gum, which was based upon the Mayan habit of chewing zapote gum for dental health.
trident has been making claims of positive effects on teeth for years..
http://www.jbox.com/product/SNK041
Only in Japan, I suppose.
Why is a nearly 5 year old article making news just now?
"..One hosts to look them up, one DNS to find them, and in the darkness BIND them."
squeeze a line of colgate onto the basin and let it sit overnight. In the morning... gum.
If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
How exactly is this going to help our future robot armies?
Seriously, gum? It's only a matter of time before humans won't need to die on battlefields; Let's work harder on making this a reality and focus less on long term foot-soldier tech. The soldiers of the future won't need teeth cleaning gum because they'll be safe at home, remote controlling robotic drones -- toothpaste only yards away.
In Finland, almost all gums are based on xylitol, and are said to be beneficial to your teeth. I haven't seen it in the states, when I've visited. Quote from wiki: "Early studies from Finland in the 1970s found that a group chewing sucrose gum had 2.92 decayed, missing, or filled (dmf) teeth compared to 1.04 in the group chewing xylitol gums". Not only that, but they taste a LOT better than the normal gums.
There is also the fact that frequently chewing gives you crooked teeth. I wonder if they started developing a battlefield alternative for braces.
It is the universe that makes fun of us all.
When they help deal with some of the hygiene issues, it IS news for nerds; stuff that matters!!!
US army develops tooth-cleaning gum
By Simon Pitman, 21-Dec-2005
-=- 2005-=- Maybe it's been stuck in the queue this whole time?
-- CyberTech
Is that some kind of organic molecule? What's its formula?
White Supremacist how to: Government edition.
Step one: Enable inbreeding, isolated mountain regions ideal.
Step two: Enable free speech.
Step three: ????
Step four: Profit.
Adeptus Orthodontus comics based on Space Marines from Warhammer 40k, courtesy of a /tg/ drawfag:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6194/adeptusorthodontusvscsm.jpg
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/4944/nottoothfairy.jpg
If that sort of gum becomes a reality, be sure to spit it out before you get to the dessert, unless you fancy inflating like a giant blueberry.
This space unintentionally left blank.
What about just buying some Fuzzy Brushes http://www.fuzzybrush.com/
Perhaps we now can get the Yankee flavour to Jenkki? That spearmint starts to taste like wood...
I'd be happy with bloody sea bird flavour too.
Sounds a lot like Biotene gum, which uses a combination of the enzymes Lysozyme, Glucose Oxidase, and Lactoperoxidase to destroy bacteria. Lysozyme directly attacks the peptidoglycans in bacterial cell walls, while Glucose Oxidase generates Hydrogen Peroxide from Glucose (in the gum). Lactoperoxidase then uses the peroxide to destroy bacteria as well.
I chew this stuff pretty often, it's better than regular gum for getting rid of bad breath. Only problem is that if you chew too much, it can give you a stomachache.
But does it floss?? That is the question!
Did anyone else read that as Tooth Cleaning Gun? I thought, "Do they really need a new variety of gun to pull off that trick?"
No, I doubt the researchers forgot to read that short informative piece about a Finnish gum that contains Xylitol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol however, the US Army is not claiming to be the first to use an artificial sweetner in their gum, nor are they claiming to be the first to use Xylitol specifically. Now, if you read the article on Xylitol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol and there is a link again, you will see that it is COMPLETELY different from a protein that attacks the bacteria that causes plaque... KSL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSL they are calling it. Note, on the link I just provided, KSL is notes as a synthesized peptide. So... the US Army's development with KSL, is very different and unrelated to Xylitol. I guess reading the article *WOULD* have been helpful in avoiding Idiot status.
"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." -D. Adams
i think there's some sort of joke about trident missiles i'm supposed to be making right now.
first the internet and now tooth cleaning gum. is there nothing you can't do?
lose != loose
"Duke is probably the biggest fanboy geek that ever was or ever will be."
I thought Dentyne gum did that many years ago?
Like the beaver, it's just Dam one thing after another
This story is half a decade old.
Come on Slashdot, get with the program.
I've tried it on, like, twenty Oompa-Loompas and each one ended up as a blueberry
When I first read this headline, I thought it said "Tooth Cleaning Gun". Does the Army have a concern about the dental hygiene of our enemies? Maybe the radicals plan to sneak into our country and give us all gingivitis.