The End of Cavities?

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.
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)

i agree with nihil...eliminate all the bacteria...what could possibly go wrong?

gut bacteria are symbiotic with the human body...my guess is the mouth is just like the rest of the digestive tract and a complete lack of bacteria would be a very bad thing indeed if for no other reason than it would be an ideal growing medium for something really nasty that is currently being kept from growing by the other, benign bacteria
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Funny, my dentist discusses gum disease far more often than cavities, so adding this stuff to candy feels like an easy way to cut cavities among the laziest but grow huge disgusting inflamed gums in their stead. It'd probably be best to keep this a toothpaste additive.
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I recall reading about this research product several years back (probably when it first started.)

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.
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