Healthier teeth with magnetized water
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. It has long been know that magnetized water can
reduce the build-up of scale in boilers and other industrial equipment. It is
believed that magnetization reduces the scale formation by preventing naturally-
occurring mineral deposits in the water from changing from a liquid to a solid
state. A form of scale can also form on teeth. Calculus is mineralized plaque
that forms on teeth through the bathing of plaque in saliva containing calcium
and phosphate ions. Now researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina
report that irrigating teeth with a magnetized oral irrigator can markedly
reduce calculus formation. Their double-blind, two-period crossover clinical
trial involved 29 patients who were known to have a strong tendency to form
calculus particularly on the back of the lower six front teeth. The
participants had their teeth thoroughly cleaned and after a two-week washout
period were assigned to irrigate their teeth twice a day with a Hydro-Floss oral
irrigator. Half of the patients used an irrigator with a magnet, the other half
used one in which the magnet had been removed. After a three-month period the
amount of calculus on the lower six front teeth was measured and the teeth were
thoroughly cleaned again. The experiment was then repeated with the group which
had used magnetized water using unmagnetized water and vice versa. A
statistical evaluation of the results obtained at the end of the first period
showed that the patients who had used the magnetized water had 64 per cent less
calculus than the patients using the ordinary water. Overall gum health was
also improved among the patients using magnetized water, but the difference was
not statistically significant. The researchers conclude that using a magnetized
water irrigator can help prevent the formation of calculus. NOTE: This study
was funded by HydroFloss Inc., the manufacturer of the irrigator.
Johnson, Karen E., et al. The effectiveness of a magnetized water oral
irrigator (Hydro Floss) on plaque, calculus and gingival health. Journal of
Clinical Periodontology, Vol. 25, 1998, pp. 316-21
|