A team of scientists led by José Córdoba from Yale University and Erich Astudillo from the University of Chile have developed a chemical that can kill all the cavity-causing bacteria in a person's mouth -in only 60 seconds! They call it Keep 32, because using it may let you keep all 32 of your teeth for a lifetime.
After seven years of research, Keep 32 is ready for human trials, if the researchers can get the funding. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Kathy McGraw)
If Keep 32 is as successful in testing as it is in the lab, it’s likely that the chemical would be added to toothpaste, mouthwash, and other oral hygiene products, especially if researchers sell their patent to one of the major pharmaceutical companies. However, Astudillo isn’t limiting his product to the dental world. He also hopes to license the chemical to candy companies like Hershey’s or Cadbury. Keep 32 could be added to sticky sweets, meaning that consumers would no longer need to be concerned that a package of saltwater taffy or caramel would cause tooth decay. Parents will have to come up with a different excuse to prevent their children from eating copious amounts of Laffy Taffy.
After seven years of research, Keep 32 is ready for human trials, if the researchers can get the funding. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Kathy McGraw)
The only thing I can think of is "Yeah, kill all the cavity causing bacteria. We all know that worked so well with other varieties of bacteria. Why worry about the potential for creating a resistant variety that worse then the one we have now? Great idea."
Also this from the article: "The molecule targets the bacteria known as streptococcus mutans, which keeps dentists in business by turning sugar into lactic acid, which in turn erodes tooth enamel. Once the streptococcus mutans is eradicated, mouths stay cavity-proof for several hours."
So it only lasts for several hours, could be added to candy (which is already a health threat for several reasons,) and we are talking about the potential for creating another mutated streptococcus variety. Yep, great idea.