Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/06/06/dentists-can-smell-fear-and-it.html
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I beat the Dentist at his game, I have dentures! Take that dentists of the world!
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OK, I’m thoroughly dousing myself in cologne for dental appointments from now on.
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We have had a cure for tooth decay since 2012 but regulatory problems have prevented it from coming to market. It’s a one time treatment that last for life is known as BCS3-L1.
We’ve had the ability to fix cavities using peptide known as P11-4 since 2013.
Instead of trying to reduce my anxiety, how about you dentist actually cure this disease instead of continuing these barbaric dental practices.
And while I’m at it, the fact that health insurance and dental insurance are separate products is unconscionable.
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Eau de confidence.
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cool so my prophylactic use of klonopin when going to the dentist is probably a good thing for my teeth as well.
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I regret to say that line of research has actually been around since 2002, and it got dropped mainly because it was only effective against a very limited range of caries-causing bacteria. There’s also the problem that current antibiotics have, bacteria adapt, and quickly.
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Alternatively, someone with at least a few of their own teeth might do well to seek out a dentist who suffers from nasal polyps, and therefore can’t smell.
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Blame the baby boomers for being derelict in their duty as citizens more concerned about self interest than the common good. Here’s looking at you Reagan.
Seems legit.
Dropped huh? Odd that Oragenics received a 17-year patent for it in 2016 and that they cited regulatory issues as the reason it was shelved in 2014. The problem is that it’s a GMO and GMO is a scare word these days.
This is not a vaccine or antibiotic. This is a replacement therapy whereby the naturally occuring S. mutans is outcompeted by the BCS3-L1 aided by the fact that BCS3-L1 produces small amounts of MU1140. This isn’t something S. mutans is going to become resistant to because it doesn’t effect S. mutans other than the fact that the BCS3-L1 strain simply outperforms it.
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What kind of editor writes “Dentists Can Smell Fear” in a headline and doesn’t know to stop there?
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2002?
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They can smell fear, and they like it!
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Getting a patent on something doesn’t mean it’s necessarily ready for public release. People have apparently been noodling around with this idea since 2002. Orogenics apparently felt they were ready to go to trials and patented its SMaRT treatment, which includes the altered bacteria as part of the overall package. I don’t see anywhere that the treatment is being used for the general public, currently.
Somehow, I don’t think that Big Dental is blocking it for nefarious reasons.
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Yup, that’s exactly my point.
Indeed.
Oh, great! Spot on! I’m having a tooth pulled tomorrow. Now, that will happen in the awareness that my dentist smells my fear. Maybe I’ll just put on some incredibly intense cologne. That should fix it 
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My dog has nasal polyps.
How does he smell?
Awful!
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Sure, it’s a scare word when someone doesn’t want something brought to market, and a completely different kind of scare word at all other times.
The ADA’s behavior in re: mercury dental amalgam makes it pretty clear that they, at least, value dentists’ income far more than public health. To put it on a more local level, has your dentist ever offered to put plastic sealant on your teeth? It’s incredibly effective and generally decreases your need for dentistry dramatically. My retired dentist father-in-law has a few choice things to say about the ADA that he never said while practicing.
I never thought about this until recently, but you’re right.
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Actually, yes. About 15 years ago, my then-dentist offered to seal some of my molars, which had deep crevasses, ideal for cavities to develop. I agreed. About 10 years later, I had moved, and my dentist at that time found that the sealant didn’t do its job; I ended up with 2 cavities where it had been applied. YMMV.
Mercury in fillings is another one of those issues that, like GMOs, the research does not bear out the anecdotal problems. If you are sensitive or have an allergy to mercury in nanodoses, than by all means ask for a different filling.
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