Primary Teeth

DentalSlim Forces Liquid diets via magnets on your teeth

By David R. Davis
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I have been fat for most of my life and with that comes an ever-changing inventory full of weight loss techniques that I never asked for. People swear that these tips are for my own personal well-being and not at all because they are uncomfortable with a fat woman sitting next to them on a plane, SO uncomfortable, in fact. , that they would be cool with my magnetized mouth closed.

What I expect when somebody tries to sell me a diet is the diet (insert food or drink here), you know, that diet where all you do is eat or drink a thing ? Whoever finds this person who swears they lost weight by eating only potatoes or cabbage soup? The one to which the experts react like this:

via GIPHY

But the DentalSlim sounds like a simple medieval torture device, something obviously bad for your wellbeing but it is being promoted in a positive way because of course it is dangerous, but at least you won’t get fat anymore.

Here is what the University of Otago says in their article on DentalSlim:

DentalSlim Diet Control is an intraoral device installed by a dental professional on the teeth of the upper and lower back. It uses magnetic devices with unique custom-made locking bolts. It allows the wearer to open their mouth only about 2mm, limiting them to a liquid diet, but it allows freedom of expression and does not restrict breathing.

The principal investigator of this delicious jigsaw trap, Professor Paul Brunton, pro-vice chancellor of health sciences at the University of Otago, goes on to say that the device is both safe and affordable, the tool perfect for people who struggle with obesity.

Obesity, of course, has been my main concern lately, there is nothing else pandemic on a global scale right now.

The device is installed by a dentist, can be released by the wearer in an emergency, and can be installed and removed multiple times.

I’m not going to pretend I know a damn thing about dental care, but something tells me that removing and replacing magnetic devices on your teeth whenever you feel like it is… bad. I have worn braces for years and once they were on my teeth they were ON my teeth until my dentist took them out. I didn’t have a killswitch for them, again they weren’t made for the sole purpose of making sure my fat ass could only drink smoothies.

As. Do I take them off when I sleep?

Can I brush my teeth?

What is your definition of an emergency that would require their removal?

Professor Brunton goes on to say that “the main obstacle to successful weight loss is adherence and this helps them establish new habits, allowing them to stick to a low calorie diet for a period of time. It really starts the process. Followed by “It is a non-invasive, reversible, economical and attractive alternative to surgical procedures” and ends with: “The point is that there are no adverse consequences with this device. “

Uh.

Okay.

A few hours after the tweet was posted, more information about DentalSlim was added to the thread in an attempt to make it seem like more than a poster for fatphobia because, uh, it looks like l poster for fatphobia.

If you are curious, in the article shared on the device, there is a small paragraph easy to miss between passages that reveal the “alarming” percentage of obese people in the world and how those who have used DentalSlim felt better about themselves. after finally finding a way to deal with this, quote, “global epidemic.”

Needless to say, social media weren’t kind to this horrible weight loss method.

Note: The DentalSlim article actually refers to this because yes, there was, in fact, a time when closing people’s jaws was used as a way to lose weight.

The practice of surgically closing people’s jaws became popular in the 1980s, but it had its risks; vomiting carried the risk of suffocation and after 9 to 12 months the patients developed gum disease. In some cases, there were persistent problems with restriction of jaw movements and some developed acute psychiatric disturbances.

If you want to learn more about this tasty nugget of ’80s nostalgia, there’s a full report right here. Guess Brunton decided to turn wired jaws into magnetized jaws? I’m sure it will be fine, right?

For the sake of argument, I guess we should ask ourselves, are liquid diets an effective method of weight loss? Well, according to this US News article, the short answer, like most of those emergency diets without a health professional on hand, is yes … quickly followed by “You’re doing more harm than good.” .

“It’s restrictive (of calories), so you’ll lose weight,” says Wesley McWhorter, director of culinary nutrition for the Nourish program at the Center for Healthy Living at the University of Texas Health Science Center at the Houston School of Public Health. In general, losing weight is a basic math: Eat fewer calories than you burn and you lose weight, which is why this – and any restrictive, low-calorie diet – will work in the short term.

But with that comes a caveat: “Is it sustainable? Absolutely not. Is it healthy? Absolutely not, ”adds McWhorter quickly. He is far from being the only one in this belief. “Eating a liquid diet is not a good long-term strategy for losing weight,” says Kristen Smith, registered dietitian, weight loss surgery coordinator for Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta and author of a blog that promotes weight loss. Healthy eating.

Not to mention that things like DentalSlim assume that the key to weight loss lies only in restricting a person’s ability to eat. It also doesn’t take into account the dangers of forcing this on your body. As McWhorter says (when it comes to liquid diets), this is a temporary fix that’s not even a fix because it’s neither long-lasting nor healthy, and it’s just a bad idea. to take care of your body.

Now take that and put some magnets IN YOUR MOUTH.

While I’m happy to see the overwhelming response of “What is the eternal fuck” in regards to magnetizing your mouth, it’s frustrating that there are bands so uncomfortable with my body that they spend time and resources to create something that is so blatantly horrible. It is also a reminder of how our society is fatphobic. There are a lot, and I mean A LOT, of “lose weight feel good” methods that are praised. even if there is some evidence that they do more damage to your body.

Even though I have come to expect contempt for my body, it is still shocking to see, in a time when we are literally facing a pandemic, that this is what a group of researchers felt the need for. need to focus.

Hope everyone keeps that same energy when the next research group does something this horrible, otherwise After horrible as that.

(Image: University of Otago)

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