Artificially sweetened (sugar free) fluoridated fruit drops and mints that break up plaque and food bits in the mouth, taking the place of a toothbrush and toothpaste. No time to brush? Pop a Drop! Great for kids! Now, taking care of your teeth can be fun!-- Sparki, Sep 26 2001 Fluoride info http://navymedicine...Dental%20Health.htmapparently fluoridate is a word.... (sorry to all you braniacs I am just a poor simple arts student ;-) [The_Englishman_Abroad, Sep 26 2001, last modified Oct 21 2004] Aquafresh Dental Gum http://www.halifax...._01/dental_gum.htmlIngredients, claims, reality, alternatives. [jutta, Sep 26 2001] Fluor chewing gum tablets http://healthanswer...Details.asp?ID=3837The only example of this I could find - maybe we're already getting enough fluor in the water? [jutta, Sep 26 2001] Candidate candy chemicals, chiefly chlorhexidine, catalyze cavity causes creating cheerful chops. Cordial congratulations conferred. http://pelagiaresea...012-3-1-268-272.pdf [Voice, May 12 2014] Sugarless gum does work kind of like this, but on a smaller scale. It isn't meant to be a substitute for toothbrush and toothpaste like these special candies would be-- Sparki, Sep 26 2001 Englishman, I happen to be a lady.-- Sparki, Sep 26 2001 At least he didn't call you A'broad'-- thumbwax, Sep 26 2001 UnaBubba, what does SEX have to do with TOOTH CARE DROPS?-- Sparki, Sep 26 2001 Dammit UB, you beat me to it again.[Sparki] //what does SEX have to do with TOOTH CARE DROPS?// Too many dental drops and you'll need something to hold them back... Hmm, some sort of dam perhaps...-- sdm, Sep 26 2001 I don't see which part of this idea doesn't exist yet. Sugarless gum (at least the dental cleaning gum kind) _is_ meant to be a substitute for brushing. They have exactly the same argument of "if you can't brush, chew on this" that you're proposing.
According to common sense and at least one article on this (see link), gums don't have the abrasive effects of brushing - you can prevent plaque buildup by increasing salivation, but you don't really remove old plaque. But you don't describe how to accomplish this, either.-- jutta, Sep 26 2001 I don't know about you people, but when I eat a hard candy I swish it around in my mouth before chompng down on it. With this in mind, in the middle of swishing it around I occasionally hit my teeth and gums with the candy. If the HARD candy that is being proposed had fluoride in it I would be knocking some of that old plaque off and I would be fortifing my teeth with the fluoride. This idea has been crossied by the barn!
BTW, I am still confused about the sex thing, do people take a mint after sex instead of a cig?-- barnzenen, Sep 26 2001 "knocking" your teeth with a mint while sucking on it wouldn't at all get rid of plaque unless the mint is somehow being ballistically propelled.. 'specially if chewing on sticky chewing gum doesn't do the trick! in fact, i'd say a candy is more likely to leave some residue (even if sugarless residue) that would let plaque grow..-- Urania, Sep 27 2001 The Dayaks of Borneo traditionally eat a type of spiny beetle as a mid-morning snack, because doing so cleans their teeth.
[Update: ate. The Dayaks have effectively ceased to be, and any of their descendants now use toothbrushes like sensible people.]-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 12 2014 random, halfbakery