Feb 25 2008
Sweet lollipop for strong teeth
Feb 25: Dentist’s advice to stay away from sweets as precaution against tooth decay will no longer deserves any bearing, as the new study conducted by the researchers at University of California, Los Angels (UCLA) is expected to pave way for tooth-friendly lollipops.
Wenyuan Shi, the dentistry professor and microbiologist has extracted an element from licorice root that has the ability to resist a main bacterium that causes tooth decay. This extract is successfully infused in lollipops that have the ability to resist Streptococcus mutans, a common bacterium that could release harmful cavity-causing acids.
While commenting on this Wenyuan Shi said: “Only 15 milligrams of licorice powder per lollipop eliminates 99.9 per cent of these bacteria in the mouth within five to 10 minutes. The holes in the cavities on the outermost layer of the teeth are due to the acids produced by the bacteria in the mouth. This lollipop is considered as an effective remedy against cavity formation.”
Right from the beginning of the project the expectations are high and the researchers focussed on medical practices rather than surgical approaches to tackle tooth decay. Other hurdles faced by the researchers are that the lollipops have to please consumers along with attracting positive feedbacks.
The lollipop form is considered more effective than the candy or gum form. And for candy and gum the ingredient could only be used in limited quantity that makes it less effective than the longer-lasting lollipop. Young children and the elderly are more vulnerable to cavities as according to a statistics released by the US Centres for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.
The lollipops are part of the emerging trend of medicined dentistry, which tries to find remedy for dental problems using medicines rather than surgical procedures. The lollipop is made available online at www.c3-jian.com. It is expected to be available in the medical stores next year onwards.
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