[dlg]

There was a version of streptococcus mutans developed that didn’t produce tons of lactic acid and would have pretty much ended tooth decay back in 2000. Iirc, it was built to outcompete the regular bacteria too. As far as I can tell there’s been no progress in commercializing this-—I assume because of the cost and complexity of FDA approval.

E.g., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12369203/

[tyre]

Looks like that research led the lead author to found a company[0] and develop a probiotic tablet[1]. Seems like it could be worth trying.

[0]: https://www.dentistryiq.com/dentistry/oral-systemic-health/a...

[1]: https://probiorahealth.com/

[darkclouds]

[1]: https://probiorahealth.com/ resolves to google, yet it shows in google results, so dont know if the HN hug of death has forced this change.

Last scan by the wayback machine.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230628125533/https://probiorah...

[Obscurity4340]

No way?! Great find, dude. I wonder if anyone can comment about it specifically or if it might be worthwhile to start a thread soliciting users experience...

[clumsysmurf]

There are a few of these kinds of products, I wonder how they compare

https://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/item02120...

[TheHumanist]

I wonder if there is anything more to the reason that it has never gained any real traction? A lot of groups would stand to lose a lot of money if something like this become used by even half the population. This would mean a massive reduction in purchases of many dental products, visits to dentists, procedures needed by dentists, etc.

[isoprophlex]

How'd you call this lactic acid promoting cartel? Big Toothpaste? Big Plaque? Big Teeth?

[bsder]

You think that the governments of the world with much poorer people wouldn't jump on something like this? Improving dental health dramatically improves outcomes all across the board.

If something works, someone, somewhere in the world would start using it. Hell, people are willing to use stuff that is flat out harmful simply because some people on the internet said so.

The big issue with bio things is that the human organism has a lot of variation and a lot of cures sorta work for some people some of the time. Consequently, a high enough bar to get FDA clearance has to be significantly strong.

(Two good recent examples: A woman died from oxalate overload from drinking green smoothies and Vitamin C and anti-oxidants can spur cancer growth. Does that mean that everybody should stop drinking green smoothies and taking Vitamin C? Obviously no. But it shows that humans vary and that things aren't always straightforward.)

[Finnucane]

What's more likely, vast cabal conspiring against competing product, or competing product just doesn't work as well as claimed? There aren't nearly as many grand conspiracies out there as there should be.

[amelius]

> it was built to outcompete the regular bacteria too

What if it invades the gut?

[piuantiderp]

Very different conditions

[0cf8612b2e1e]

My naïve thought, assuming it was effective, could outcompete acid spewing species, and you had dosed a handful of the population: why would it not have been able to spread through the population?

Inoculated person X kisses two people, they go on to kiss two people, etc. Probably too simple a model, but I assume that kissing spreads all manner of microorganisms. How much do you need for the bacteria to take hold?