Medicine: Vitamin K Gum

As most toothache victims know, cavities are generally caused by acid which forms in the mouth from fermenting food particles. Dentists can partly neutralize or slow down formation of this acid with several safe chemicals. The problem has not been what to give busy patients—but how to give it.

Northwestern University Dental School's Dr. Leonard S. Fosdick & co-workers may have found an answer. Reporting in the Journal of Dental Research, the experimenters released some long-awaited data on acid-decreasing synthetic vitamin K (2-methyl-1, 4-napthoquinone). They hit on the idea of spreading it on chewing gum. For the experiment, 55 Northwestern students faithfully...