Saturday, January 24, 2009

Gum Control in Mexico

4 out of 5 dentists may recommend chewing gum to reduce cavities, but one Mexican director for conservation of public spaces recommends swallowing that gum when you're done. On the other hand, one pediatrician warns that doing so could cause an intestinal blockage. What do I do?!?

The controversy centers around a sticky statistic: in Mexico City, the city-wide average for number of discarded gum blobs per square yard of sidewalk is 70.


This article from Yahoo News, which is a pretty interesting read, outlines the problem and a few possible solutions, ranging from expensive sidewalk steam cleaners to organic gum that supposedly breaks down much more quickly than regular gum. The large-scale city clean-up is set to begin next week.

The Dental Ninja's solution? Just throw your gum in the garbage like a normal person.

5 comments:

FlossOrDie said...

I didn't read the article....but, who really gives an eff about gum in the streets?! Mexico has so many other serious issues. Then again...I DO know some peeps who have got some "work" done 'down there'...

Benji said...

You mean problems like this? I'd have to agree.

Oh, and yesterday was my school's annual free dental charity day. I saw some mighty fine work that made it's way up here from El Salvador.

FlossOrDie said...

Crazy sad. My class will be headed to Nicaragua soon..it's a yearly thing. As a group of hygienists you would be amazed by what we get to see/do down there. And they are so grateful..it's amazing. I'm gonna love my job.

***should be sleeping...gave my first PSA today... :)

FlossOrDie said...

Anyway....I love your writing! Keep it up, please.

<3

Benji said...

Thanks! And that's awesome. I love doing dental mission trips - definitely something I want to continue all through my career. Hopefully you didn't cause a hematoma with the PSA!