The Pentagon has spent on the development of special chewing gum for soldiers $ 12 million
According to The New Yorker, chewing gum has been developed for about seven years. $ 12 million was spent on research. The novelty is to be tested in the coming year. According to Dominic Zero, director of the Institute of Dental Research at Indiana University, the few who have already managed to try it, liked the new chewing gum. At the same time, Zero noted that even such a useful thing would not replace tooth brushing.
The US military spends $ 100 million annually on dental procedures. Sometimes a soldier has to be transported to another continent in order to get to a doctor. According to Colonel Robert Hale, commander of the dental and trauma unit, 40% recruits have at least three sick teeth. Therefore, in the case of efficiency, military gum at a cost of $ 2 apiece will potentially help reduce military spending.
“Oral hygiene is of paramount importance to the military. It helps reduce time and money spent on treatment, ”the report said in The Army Times.
Originally gum was intended for the military, serving in regions with a lack of water. But now she will strive to ensure, first of all, those 15% of the military, who are in the "risk group", having a strong caries or gum disease. In addition, "military development" will be on the market.
“If we manage to develop an effective means of combating caries and offer it, for example, to a company like Wrigley, then perhaps young people will come to the army initially with healthier teeth,” Hale said.
Chewing gum caught on in the American army for a long time. The generals used it for moral support of the fighters during the Second World War. According to researchers, the use of chewing gum helped the soldiers to cope with stress and created a feeling of home.
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