New Mouthwash Ends Tooth Decay?
Posted on Thu, Dec 15, 2011 @ 01:13 PM
Wouldn't it be great if tooth decay became a thing of the past? A visit to your dentist would, most of the time, only include a cleaning session with the hygienist followed by an examination by your dentist. Basically, most of the intrusive dental procedures such as filling cavities in teeth, building crowns and bridges would be far less common. Even the less intrusive air abrasion procedure would be required only occasionally.
The above scenario may well be on the road to reality due to the development of a new super mouthwash at UCLA by research microbiologist, Wenyuan Shi, who is also chair of the oral biology section at the UCLA School of Dentistry.
The results of the new mouthwash on a dozen test subjects are notable because after just one rinsing with this concoction, it was found that the cavity causing bacteria, S.mutans, was exclusively targeted and completely erradicated during the ensuing 12 hour period.
The human body relies on millions of different bacteria that are beneficial to its ecosystem. Typical mouthwashes do not just kill cavity creating bacteria, rather they destroy beneficial bacteria as well by taking a less directed more shotgun approach.
The reason it was difficult formulate is that it takes considerable time to develop a new mouthwash that just ends tooth decay without also hammering the rest of the system. The over-use of regular mouth washes and antibiotics can seriously compromise the ecosystem of bacteria (good & bad) within the human body, lowering its resistance to bacterial and parasitic infections. Shi's super mouthwash represents 10 years of hard work to isolate a peptide that only kills cavity causing bacteria.
If the FDA approves Shi's super mouthwash it will hold the distinction as the first anti-dental caries drug to be approved since fluoride over half a century ago. The term 'caries' is the infectious disease commonly known as tooth decay.
Photo Credit: aldenchadwick