Back in my day in the early 90s our elementary got speakers who taught us how to properly care for our teeth. We used to get tablets that would turn our mouths red where our teeth were still dirty, helping us brush thoroughly. Soon after about 1992 they disappeared mysteriously.
What happened to them? Why did they seem to disappear so quickly? Are they the reason I’ve grown tentacles?
Hello boys and girls. This is Mr. Rogers. Can you say “Red Dye #2”? I knew you could!
:dubious: Red Dye #2 was banned in the U.S. in 1976. Perhaps you’re thinking of Red Dye #3 which was restricted – but not banned – by the USFDA in 1990.
Anyway, these tablets aren’t gone.
I was going to question the premise, but I see that Truth Seeker has already found a source.
After all, I remember them from Back in my day in the early 70s, and I haven’t seen them since. I naturally assumed that one has to be a young child to get the special red tablet treatment; I am no longer a child, hence no more red tablets for me.
They’re called dissolving tablets, and they used to be made with Red Dye #2(or at least a dye that concerned the FDA). Now they’re made with Red Dye #28, which is considered harmless.
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~stepha/Detection.html
-Lil
Did you mean to say “disclosing” tablets?
If you were finished elementary by '92 you would probably be born no earlier than 1980, making you early twenties at most, and possibly still a teeny-bopper. Nobody that young is allowed to use the phrase “Back in my day” - you have to have a few gray hairs or wrinkles before anyone will take the line seriously… or at least speak about a time long enough ago that those likely to be listening to you weren’t born yet. Don’t be in a rush to start using old-guy lines; those days will come all too soon by themselves :D:D:D.
FTR I remember these pills from a decade previous to you in Canada.
In furtherance of efforts to pinpoint these tablets in time, I encountered them in 5th grade, 1973-'74. They also demonstrated a liquid version called “Trace”
I think they never really caught on because:
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They tasted pretty foul, and
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Most people would find them counterproductive. I think most people’s primary objective in terms of tooth care is keeping their teeth white and attractive (witness all the polishes and bleaches in use today), not removing every last particle of plaque. If there was a special energy beam you could shine over your living room, that would transform all the dust and make it extra-highly visible thereafter, thus allowing you (and, in fact, compelling you) to make sure you cleaned up every last speck, would you really feel any great compulsion to use it?
Yep I did.
Yes, I’m 21, but it’s fun talking like I’m an old coot.
But I’ll try to be more of a 21 year old for the rest of this post as not to confuse anyone on age stereotypes.
OMG PARIS HILTON IS SO SKINNY SHE’S SO KEWL DID YOU SEE JANET AND JUSTIN OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE IT SO JOE WAS ALL WILL YOU SLEEP WITH ME AND I WAS LIKE KAY SOUNDS GOOD SEX GIVES ME SELF ESTEEM OMG PARIS GETS ALL THE GUYS I SO WISHH I WAS PARIS.
shudder
HAhahahahahahahahahaha.
If those tablets aren’t gone, they should be. They’re like a pop quiz that no one ever passed, ever.
Here in England we just use red M&Ms.
My six year old just brought them home from school the other day. I must say, I sounded pretty stupid trying to explain to him what they do!
My six year old just brought one home last week, so they’re still out there.
And I was using them in the 1960s.
You guys brush?
nodnod* Yep, that’s a solid point. People would get demotivated by the fact that there’s no way you could get rid of 100% of that red crap. Which was not really the point – heck, even dentists no longer insist on a brushing after every single meal, but would rather you brush really well twice a day and use the floss with some regularity so as to avoid accumulating too much plaque before your next cleaning.
Coincidentally enough, I used one of them just this morning. (I stole 'em off of Aureos when I was helping her pack for her move to Wauwatosa.) These were made by the Butler company under their G-U-M line of products. (Ha… GUM line. I make funny.)
I don’t think they’re supposed to be used on a daily basis, more like once a week or once every two weeks just to make sure you’re giving all the surfaces of your teeth equal attention. The proper way to use 'em is just before brushing; the instructions specifically say you’re supposed to get rid of the dye by doing so.
I found it rather useful, actually. It showed me I’d been doing well on my upper teeth, but the gumline on my lower jaw needed a lot more work. So now I know, and in two weeks I can check again to see how I’ve been doing.
Which isn’t to say I’d drop them like a hot potato in a New York minute if I found out they were damaging my teeth.
That should read, “Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t drop them…”
And for further edification, here are the little darlings themselves.