Image credit: OralB
Painful burning on the roof of your mouth? We can’t blame you. We know how tempting it is to take a bite the moment you get served with some searing hot fresh from the oven pizza.
The good news is a team of hardworking researchers from the University of New Mexico and the University of Texas at Austin have designed strips to combat pizza mouth burns. The invention is pretty much like those breath-freshening strips which quickly dissolve in your mouth.
These strips contain anesthetic (benzocaine) to numb the pain and a therapeutic polymer to help heal the burn, and can be applied directly to the burned area of the tongue, cheek or roof of the mouth.
In an official press release, lead researcher Dr. Jason McConville, said, ‘We found these strips to be non-toxic, which has huge potential for anyone who burns their mouth while eating and drinking hot foods—and that’s just about everyone.’
The product is still just a prototype and it could take some time until we see these healing strips hit the market. Dr. McConville told NBC that first, he’ll need to test his product on volunteers who won’t be required to scorch their mouths before they’re provided with the relief.
Until then, we just got to be more patient before we take a bite or sip of anything that’s piping hot.
