Preserved Topic: Bacteria and tooth decay (Page 1 of 1)

GM Mouthwash 'could Banish Tooth Decay' scientists claim

A genetically modified mouthwash has been developed which could effectively eliminate tooth decay, scientists claim.

The mouth rinse contains a friendlier GM version of the bug that rots the teeth which does not produce enamel eroding acid.

When the solution is squirted into the mouth, the good bugs take over from the Streptococcus mutans bacteria and prevent them from returning.

According to the researchers, a single five-minute treatment costing less than £100 would last a lifetime.

Professor Jeffrey Hillman, from the University of Florida, said: "If this approach works as well as we hope, it has the potential to eliminate the majority of tooth decay."

The new strain appears to stay permanently on the teeth, preventing other bugs from gaining a foothold. "It is genetically stable and should be safe for humans," Professor Hillman added.

He hopes to start clinical trials this year, using a solution squirted on to the teeth of adult volunteers. The mouthwash would be most ideally suited to infants cutting their first teeth, he added.

"Infants normally acquire Streptococcus mutans via contaminated saliva from their mother or primary caregiver," he said. "Children would simply visit their dentist for a squirt of solution on their teeth."

Dr Dennis Mangan, chief of the infectious diseases branch of the US National Institutes of Health, said the approach showed great promise: "The mechanisms by which bacteria adhere to and grow on the teeth as biofilm communities, and then convert sugar to acids that damage the enamel, are extremely complicated."

But he stressed that toothbrushes should never be thrown away. "Good dental hygiene will always be necessary because of plaque build-up," he said.

Story filed: 17:57 Sunday 17th February 2002

AND IN OTHER NEWS

A group of Insane Chickens escaped from the Laboratory of the World Know DocOzone. His scientists were trying to learn about the brain waves of chickens, until a disaster ensued, killing at least 20 of the chickens and mutating over 100 more, that are now loose in Sweden....

That's a really cool concept. But I always wonder about things like this. I wonder, for example, what happens if having the "bad" bugs that create the acid are performing another vital role in our systems that we don't know about? I don't know how likely that would be but it would suck if we started replacing the good bugs with the bad and then found out later it was worse that way.

But still this is a very exciting development.

What's the source?

Even if it does work, there will probably be a very strong lobbying against this from Dentists, and it will end up never being used.

My source didn't provide a source, so I hit Google.

Compliments of Ananova. Apparently there is another copy of it at World Scientist, but I haven't been able to find it. I tried to broaden the search, but I turned up more stuff than I cared to sift through.

anyone read paul jennings books as a kid??
because this reminds me of his "one shot toothpaste" story...


- - r e i t s m a - -
(tifkab)

Yeah...hope we all don't turn into one "Giant, fusty green" tooth. Interesting.

Are the Paul Jennings books even distributed overseas?