Re: OT: Mold in mouth guards (13-year-old almost loses his leg)

[Guest guest]

,

Interesting article. Thanks. What I'd like to point out is the

following two concepts from the article:

" We have, in effect, invented some diseases by creating

a completely unnatural situation with these mouth

guards. They create an artificial atmosphere or

environment for these organisms where they can

proliferate, " said researcher Dr. S. Conrad... "

" They not only grow, but they have something to attach to

so they can form a biofilm. They can increase a million- or

a billion-fold because they're in a place where it's wet,

warm and they're fed, " Conrad said. "

The concept of an environment and a biofilm is equally valid for

houses, or anywhere else. Houses should have environments

which support people thriving but discourage mold and bacteria

from thriving. Keep it clean and dry. Also, biofilms which are

sometimes slimey are the thin film breeding grounds for mold.

They must be removed because chemicals, whether bleach or

anti-fungals or oils, cannot penetrate the film to kill, let alone

digest (denature), the mold and bacteria.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

-----

>

>

> I wanted to share this article in case some of you have teenagers who use

mouth guards.

>

> Gauge your guard

>

> by: KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer

> Wednesday, September 09, 2009

> 9/9/2009 4:48:24 AM

>

> One

> 13-year-old football player nearly lost his leg to an infection

> eventually linked to his mouth guard. Bacteria growing on his mouth

> guard had entered his system through lesions in his mouth.

>

> Another boy the same age had severe exercise-induced asthma, which

> progressively became worse. Within two days of a severe attack,

> researchers at Oklahoma State University's infectious disease lab

> received the boy's mouth guard for analysis.

>

> They determined the boy was aspirating yeast and mold spores

> from his mouth guard into his respiratory tract, which set off asthma

> attacks.

>

> " Mouth guards are loaded with organisms, " says Dr. R.

> Glass, who led a research study on mouth guard use at Oklahoma State

> University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa.

>

> The study was published in the September/October issue of the journal Sports

Health: A Multidisciplinary

> Approach.

>

> In this latest study, 62 Division I football players were

> examined along with their mouth guards during a football season. The

> study showed that guards increased the number and intensity of cuts and

> abrasions in the mouth, which offer an entry point for infections that

> arise out of the bacteria, yeast and fungi that collect on the mouth

> guards.

>

> " We have, in effect, invented some diseases by creating a

> completely unnatural situation with these mouth guards. They create an

> artificial atmosphere or environment for these organisms where they can

> proliferate, " said researcher Dr. S. Conrad.

>

> Although useful in protecting teeth, guards act much like a sponge when it

comes to bacteria, yeast and mold.

>

> " They not only grow, but they have something to attach to so

> they can form a biofilm. They can increase a million- or a billion-fold

> because they're in a place where it's wet, warm and they're fed, "

> Conrad said.

>

> Guards become rough and jagged with use and lacerate the mouth tissues,

providing a portal into an athlete's

> vascular system.

>

> Glass recommends sanitizing mouth guards daily with denture cleaning

solutions. But that isn't enough.

>

> When cut in half and examined under scanning electron microscopy, mouth

> guards are so porous, they look like Swiss cheese. Bacteria collect and

> grow inside those pores and can't be removed.

>

> That's not to say mouth guards don't provide critical protection, Conrad said.

>

> " We are not against mouth guards. They're legal. They work. They're good, " he

said.

>

> But parents should replace them at least every two weeks and clean them daily,

Glass said.

>

> " It's that length of time when organisms get established and

> form a biofilm, " he said. " That's their civilization. That's when they

> completely take over. "

>

> http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?

articleid=20090909_17_A2_Althou526610

>

>

[Guest guest]

Carl and List Members,

Would this particular problem be solved by sterilizing or soaking the mouth

guard somehow in a solution of hydrogen peroxide or an anit-bacterial mouhwash?

Am concerned as my nephew plays football and also my sister, his mom uses some

sort of mouth guard to prevent her from grinding her teeth. I've been concerned

enough about worries that sleeping with a mouth guard would also leech the

plastic, but this is far more of an issue.

Thanks,

Sam

,

Interesting article. Thanks. What I'd like to point out is the

following two concepts from the article:

" We have, in effect, invented some diseases by creating

a completely unnatural situation with these mouth guards.

[Guest guest]

Sam,

Yes. Cleaning and disinfecting is one of the recommendations of

the article.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

-----

>

>

> Carl and List Members,

>

> Would this particular problem be solved by sterilizing or soaking the mouth

guard somehow in a solution of

> hydrogen peroxide or an anit-bacterial mouhwash? Am concerned as my nephew

plays football and also my

> sister, his mom uses some sort of mouth guard to prevent her from grinding her

teeth. I've been concerned

> enough about worries that sleeping with a mouth guard would also leech the

plastic, but this is far more of an

> issue.

>

> Thanks,

> Sam

>

>

>

> ,

>

> Interesting article. Thanks. What I'd like to point out is the

>

> following two concepts from the article:

>

> " We have, in effect, invented some diseases by creating

>

> a completely unnatural situation with these mouth guards.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I used the dishwasher -top shelf- for a lot of that stuff, mouthguards for

basketball and hockey as well as for ice cube trays and toothbrushes every few

days.

The mouth guards often end up in the bottom of the gym bag(ewww) and I don't

remember them coming with a case. It might be good to let them dry on a paper

towel in the sun.

Maybe the dentists and family doctors, should become more involved with this as

the guards are to protect the teeth. Do some national PSA's, etc., on how to

properly care for them as they are often an " off the rack " thing from a sporting

goods company or handed out by coaches under a regulatory scheme. It is

surprising given that they are often at the bottom of the gym bag, that

something like this hasn't happened earlier.

Often parents are so burned out by all the activities the kids are in that the

mouth guard gets less attention than it should. It is a wake up call.

[Guest guest]

ginloi,

You brought back some memories for me, with the mouth guard

in the bottom of the gym bag! It's been decades since high school

football and it wasn't until my senior year that we had mouth

guards. The only reason we wore them was we'd be benched if

caught without them. None of us had second or even first

thoughts about throwing them into the bag and then straight into

the mouth.

In the middle of the last game of my senior year I threw mine

away because it was not only uncomfortable but it burned my

mouth and gums. On the last play I took a shoulder pad to the

chin which chipped one front tooth and severed the nerve to the

other on. This has resulted in an ongoing dental expense for 40

years now!

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

-----

I used the dishwasher -top shelf- for a lot of that stuff, mouthguards for

basketball and hockey as well as for ice cube trays and toothbrushes

every few days.

The mouth guards often end up in the bottom of the gym bag(ewww) and

I don't remember them coming with a case. It might be good to let them

dry on a paper towel in the sun.

Maybe the dentists and family doctors, should become more involved

with this as the guards are to protect the teeth. Do some national PSA's,

etc., on how to properly care for them as they are often an " off the rack "

thing from a sporting goods company or handed out by coaches under a

regulatory scheme. It is surprising given that they are often at the

bottom of the gym bag, that something like this hasn't happened earlier.

Often parents are so burned out by all the activities the kids are in that

the mouth guard gets less attention than it should. It is a wake up call.

----------

The following section of this message contains a file attachment

prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format.

If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any other MIME-compliant system,

you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer.

If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance.

---- File information -----------

File: DEFAULT.BMP

Date: 16 Jun 2009, 0:10

Size: 358 bytes.

Type: Unknown