For the "objects that have the power to disturb me" series, here is this device developed by the University of Otago, New Zealand. Researchers present it as “the world's first dental weight loss device”. What does he do? It essentially prevents patients from opening their mouth more than 2mm.
Guys, this is creepy. Such a thing brings to mind medieval torture. The system, based on magnetic devices and customized locking bolts, is fixed by the dentist to the first molars with orthodontic cement. It doesn't limit breathing, it doesn't limit speech, but it actually keeps people in need of a liquid-only diet.
With your mouth closed to lose weight
In a study published in the british dental journal, seven participants (both healthy and obese) wore DentalSlim devices for 14 days. They received a commercially available liquid weight loss diet, which provided them with 1.200 kcal of energy per day. The average weight loss over this period was 6,36 kg (14 lbs).
If this seems absurd to you, here's something you probably don't know. I didn't know it, for example. The jaw lock device appears to have been conceived as a less invasive, less dangerous and more humane way to improve on a practice used in the 80s. Doctors surgically closed the jaws of some patients. A practice that put people at serious risk of suffocation if they vomited.
To avoid this possibility, DentalSlim Diet Control is equipped with a tool of emergency release that users can carry with them at any time. No study participant reported using this key, although one patient admitted to “cheating” by smuggling in melted chocolate and fizzy drinks.
It takes time to change habits
“The main barrier people face in losing weight is consistency,” says the professor Paul Brunton, professor of health sciences at the University of Otago, and leader of this project.
This device helps them establish new habits by allowing them to follow a low-calorie diet for a period of time. It really starts the process of losing weight. It is a non-invasive, reversible, economical and easy to perform alternative. There are no negative consequences with this device.”
Paul Brunton
I continue to be chilled, I have to be honest. But I know that there are people forced to have pieces of their stomach removed, or to have rings inserted that close it: much more invasive and risky procedures. There are people who are really struggling to lose weight, when losing weight means saving your life. For them, perhaps, this horrible "mouth-sliding tooth machine" is a way to trigger the spark that brings them back to different eating habits.
The document is freely accessible on the british dental journal.
