Ever wonder if that gum you accidentally swallowed really still IS in
your stomach seven years later??? Well, we thought you might enjoy a
couple of these myth busters! The information on this web page is based
upon fun questions and interests of children, teenagers, and adults.
Teeth can pick up radio signals???
FALSE…although it is theoretically possible, but there has never ever
been a medically proven case. Here is the science behind it: “Any
non-linear electrical circuit can demodulate AM radio signals. Slightly
corroded metal fillings, or even an electrolytic connection can do the
job (it makes what amounts to an old-fashioned crystal set). It is
*possible* to have your tooth fillings function as a crystal set, but I
would think that you would have to be pretty close to the broadcasting
tower to be able to hear the demodulated signal, which would have to be
of sufficient strength to cause something in the mouth to vibrate at
audio frequencies. Nevertheless there have been reports of this
phenomenon practically from the inception of radio broadcasting.” Data
is courtesy Urban Legends.Com, Copyright 2004 All Rights reserved.
Gum takes seven years to digest???
FALSE. It takes the same amount of time as regular food items. REMINDER:
You shouldn’t be chewing gum with braces. =) Here is the science behind
it: This oft-repeated claim may stem from genuine confusion over a term
commonly applied to chewing gum: indigestible. Although gum resists the
body’s efforts to break it down (hence the ‘indigestible’ designation),
it does not linger in the stomach. Gum is eliminated as human waste in
the same way – and at the same rate – as any other swallowed matter.
Granted, it comes out the far end relatively unchanged by the trip, but
it does come out on schedule. Chewing gum is quickly worked into an
unchanging mass in the mouth that, unlike foodstuffs, barely gets
smaller no matter how hard or how long we chew it. Its resistance to
being broken down by the teeth works to support the fanciful notion that
it has special properties which allow it to lurk in the digestive
system year after year. Moreover, since we know we’re not supposed to
swallow gum, imagination kicks in, inventing a “reason” for this
prohibition since the obvious one – that it’s not food – lacks an
appropriate sense of mystery. Data is courtesy Urban Legends.Com,
Copyright 2004 All Rights reserved.
Video games can sometimes be helpful for doctors???
TRUE. Believe it or not, playing video games can improve specific types
of eye-hand coordination. Here is the science behind it: Studies show
that surgeons who play video games 3 hours a week had 37% less mistakes
performing certain procedures. Playing video games after you finish your
homework is a must. Also, it is best to alternate outside physical
activity with video game play. If you are playing video games so much
that your hand starts to get sore or that you get headaches, then you
should stop right away. The best rule of thumb is moderation.
Click here to read the actual report!
Teeth will dissolve if left in a glass of soda-pop overnight???
FALSE. Coca-Cola will not dissolve a tooth (or a nail, or a penny, or a
piece of meat) overnight. But drinking too much is not healthy for your
diet and will cause your teeth to be stained. Here is the science behind
it: Coca-Cola contains acids (such as citric acid and phosphoric acid)
which will eventually dissolve items such as teeth (given enough time),
but so do plenty of other substances we commonly ingest (such as orange
juice). The concentration of acid in these products is so low that our
digestive systems are easily capable of coping with it with no harm to
us. The idea that any substance which can dissolve teeth must therefore
damage our teeth if we drink it is nonsensical. We don’t hold drinks in
our mouths for days at a time – any liquids we drink simply wash over
our teeth very briefly, and our teeth are further protected by their
enamel coating and the ameliorating effects of saliva. Data is courtesy
Snopes.Com, Copyright 2004, All Rights reserved.
Food will remain germ-free if dropped on the floor and picked up within 5 seconds???
FALSE. Unlike baseball, when food hits the ground it’s out. Here is the
science behind it: Bacteria and viruses grab on by contact, and even
brief encounters of the split-second variety can be more than enough for
them to claim a new home address. They harbor no respect for a time
barrier of a specific number of seconds. There is no five-second rule.
The to-die-for brownie that just hit the floor may have instantly
acquired a deadly literalness if we’re foolish enough to persist in
thinking of it as still being fit to eat. Likewise, parents whose
children use teething devices or soothers should not rely upon the fast
retrieval of these items when they hit the floor but should instead
always wash and boil them lest they pass dreadful contagions to their
children. (And no, a quick shake under hot water won’t do.) Data is
courtesy Snopes.Com, Copyright 2004, All Rights reserved.
Two people will get their braces stuck together if they kiss???
FALSE. We have never heard of this truly happening. Here is the science
behind it: During normal kissing your braces won’t touch, so they can’t
get tangled up with each other! Kissing is not something that has to be
given up to have a healthy bite and a nice smile. If you both have
braces, don’t worry!
Rockets use laughing gas in their engine???
True. SpaceShipOne, the first privately manned spaceship, uses laughing
gas and a rubber compound in the booster. All rocket motors have some
form of “fuel” and an “oxidizer”. In solid rocket motors the oxidizer is
embedded into the fuel (like an Estes rocket motor) and when lighted
will burn until depleted. In liquid rockets the oxidizer is usually
liquid oxygen and the fuel another liquid like hydrogen or kerosene. In
hybrid motor, Nitrous Oxide (N2O or laughing gas) is used as an oxidizer
and hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB or rubber) as the fuel. Both
of these can be safely stored without special precautions and will not
react when put together. Finally N2O has the nice quality of
self-pressurizing when at room temperature so that the space ship
doesn’t need complicated turbo pumps or plumbing to move the oxidizer
into the combustion chamber. It is environmentally friendly too. The
products of combustion are mostly benign (water vapor, carbon dioxide,
hydrogen and nitrogen and some carbon monoxide) and certainly much more
friendly than any other class of rocket propulsion. Data courtesy
www.scaled.com
After active orthodontic treatment ends, many patients get retainers.
Often, they will wear them full time
for the first several months after braces are removed. The orthodontist
might suggest that the patient wear retainers nightly after that.
Retainers are as an important part of orthodontic treatment
as braces. They help hold teeth in their new positions while new bone
forms around the teeth. Follow the orthodontist's instructions on
retainer wear. It's the best way to keep teeth
where the orthodontist and patient have moved them.
