No Need To brush Your Teeth Again - Anti-Cavity Molecule

Tuesday, 10 July 2012 10:23

Designer molecule means no more cavities ever Yes, it's true: you'll never have to brush or floss your teeth ever again now that a team of researchers from Yale and the University of Santiago have created a new molecule that can completely wipe out cavity-causing bacteria in sixty seconds flat. Called "Keep 32" (since you have 32 teeth and this stuff helps you keep all of 'em), the molecule destroys cavity-causing streptococcus mutans bacteria in under a minute and keeps more from growing for hours. You can put this stuff in toothpaste, mouthwash, chewing gum, or even candy, and after a 14-18 month trial (and FDA approval) you'll probably start seeing it turn up in products from Colgate toothpaste to Hershey candy bars, according to the researchers. Our only worry here is that this molecule (we can go ahead and call it a chemical) seems to work by killing bacteria. In other words, it's an antibiotic. And the thing about antibiotics is that unless they're 100% effective (which they never are), bacteria will develop resistance to them, which is another way of saying that the bacteria targeted by the antibiotic will gradually get meaner and meaner until the antibiotic doesn't do anything anymore. I don't know about you, but I don't particularly want to find out what a superpowered version of a cavity feels like: maybe the bacteria won't stop at teeth anymore, and will start drilling holes directly into our brains instead. Good times.