January 29, 2026
Spit happens, drama ensues
The Rise and Impending Fall of the Dental Cavity
From Mom’s kisses to sugar fixes: readers cry ‘ad in disguise’ while science gets messy
TLDR: The piece says mouth bacteria spread via everyday spit and sugar, melting enamel, while dinos dodged cavities. Commenters torched it as a stealth ad with shaky science, linking skeptical reviews and questioning “one-shot” fixes—important because health claims need proof, not promo, and readers are demanding receipts.
The article claims cavities are a contagious mouth bug story: you likely got yours from mom’s spit, the sugar-loving bacteria (think tiny carb monsters) churn out acid, your enamel melts, and dinosaurs probably skipped cavities thanks to diet and tougher teeth. But the comments? Pure fireworks. “Spitgate” broke out fast, with readers accusing the piece of being a sales pitch wrapped in science. One user dropped a skeptical McGill link, basically saying, “not so fast on declaring the end of cavities.” Others pointed to the ad at the bottom and groaned: “Is this an ad in lab coat?”
Then the nerd-fight: a commenter poked holes in the magical promise that one application keeps cavity bugs away, asking how the bacteria would even stick around and why the science cites older studies. Meme-wise, readers joked about “blame-it-on-mom dentistry,” “Big Tooth,” and whether gators have better dental plans than we do. The split is clear: ad-watchers vs. science believers, with most siding with “show me the receipts.” The community verdict? Fun dino facts, spicy sugar talk, but if you’re sneaking a sales pitch past Reddit, prepare for cavity-level drilling.
Key Points
- •Cavities are described as communicable, often acquired through saliva exchange with caregivers, notably mothers.
- •Streptococcus mutans metabolizes dietary carbohydrates via glycolysis, producing lactic acid that lowers oral pH.
- •Acidic pH demineralizes tooth enamel, creating roughness and pits that develop into cavities.
- •A study in Dental Materials (Cross et al.) used profilometry to show enamel roughening from lactic acid exposure and S. mutans colonization.
- •Caries are rarely documented in many animals and not in dinosaurs; proposed reasons include low-sucrose diets and dinosaur enamel containing fluorapatite, which is more acid-resistant.