Appalachian "Mountain Dew Mouth"

[Liberal_in_LA]

Story from 2009 but new to me. 20/20 re-ran their story about Appalachian poverty. One segment
was about teeth issues and the addiction to Mountain Dew which has a high caffeine content. They showed
young and old sucking back on the Mountain Dew. Really eye opening. The followup story (2011) reported the Pepsi (maker of Mountain Dew) donated several hundred thousand to a mobile dental clinic. The least they could do.

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Here is link to the story for 2009:

Mountain Dew Addiction Helps Rot Central Appalachins' Teeth


Central Appalachia is the number one spot in America for tooth decay to due to their poor diet, lack of access to dental care, and widespread addiction to Mountain Dew. They say it's used as a kind of anti-depressant, thanks to its high-caffeine and sugar levels. Good Morning America visited and found they even put it in baby bottles. Some 2-year olds have 12 cavities in their baby teeth. They discovered an 11-year old Dew-drinker boy who hadn't brushed his teeth in several weeks because they hurt too much. Crazy to think that's what acid, sugar and caffeine will do to your teeth when combined with a bad diet and little in the way of dentist visits.

http://consumerist.com/2009/02/mountain-dew-addiction-helps-rot-central-appalachins-teeth.html

[tblue]

1. OMGOSH!!! Did you read this?

"They say it's used as a kind of anti-depressant, thanks to its high-caffeine and sugar levels. Good Morning America visited and found they even put it in baby bottles. Some 2-year olds have 12 cavities in their baby teeth. They discovered an 11-year old Dew-drinker boy who hadn't brushed his teeth in several weeks because they hurt too much. Crazy to think that's what acid, sugar and caffeine will do to your teeth when combined with a bad diet and little in the way of dentist visits."

AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. Link to the 20/20 segment. Warning, lots of pics of teeth, looks similar to meth mouth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HvWTv9TM-c

[Recursion]

27. Actually it mostly is meth mouth, or rather meth mouth is mostly mountain dew mouth

Meth doesn't particularly damage teeth.

[Liberal_in_LA]

32. ok. Didn't know that.

[Zax2me]

30. Is Diet Mountain Dew any better?

Maybe it can be a detox type solution!

[TwilightGardener]

2. There was a scene in the TV show "My Name Is Earl" in which the trailer-trashy

character Joy says, "Who was the one staying up all night with the babies, when they woke up crying for their bottle of Mountain Dew??" Weirdly close to the truth.

[Electric Monk]

3. Wasn't Mountain Dew originally a euphemism for moonshine?

[dgibby]

4. Yes, it was.

Where did you find that photo? I'd love to get one of those jugs. Our high school was the "Mountaineers", and our football team fought our arch rivals each year for possession of the "little brown jug". It was the oldest rivalry in the state at one time.

[Electric Monk]

6. I found that with a google image search. That's actually a piggy bank, not a real jug.

http://www.ioffer.com/i/hillbilly-mountain-dew-moonshine-jug-bank-132643835

[dgibby]

7. Thank you so much!

Looks like I've got some "serious" shopping to do!

[eleny]

10. Here's one at a decent price if it's still available

http://www.myshopkart.net/agrandplace2/product_info.php?products_id=16451312

[dgibby]

29. Thanks!

I'm trying to purchase it, but am having problems with the company. Will let you know if I get it.

[pnorman]

9. Yes, and I thought that was what this thead would be about.

RATS!

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. interesting that Pepsi used that name for it's soda

[Solly Mack]

5. I saw that program...

and the follow-up.

I had all kinds of emotions.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. Interesting how the Dentist from India said the area was poorer than his hometown.

[banned from Kos]

8. Mountain Dew = Crystal Meth for children

We live in a chemical country with a Republican mentality of worthless faith.

[Fleshdancer]

11. Awful.

I'm having a hard time understanding how anyone could justify feeding Mountain Dew to their two year old. :(

I'm very anti-soda for kids. My 11 yr old doesn't drink them and I don't let her friends drink them while they're in my care. It helps that I don't have it in the house. At age two though?? Wow.

[hedgehog]

25. my kids claim I ruined soda for them because the only time I bought

ginger ale or coke into the house was when someone was barfing.

[leveymg]

14. In much of that area, the #1 cause of tooth loss isn't soft drinks - it's coal & heavy metals

that leach into the water supply.

Community Impacts of Mountaintop Removal « Appalachian Voices
http://appvoices.org/end-mountaintop-removal/community /
A community in Wise County, Virginia sits at the base of a mountaintop removal coal ... sites frequently experience contamination of their drinking water supplies. ... not to mention the heavy metals naturally present in the coal. ...
►

I've noticed this meme pop up here at DU before. It's a staple of reporting in local chain-owned newspapers in the region to attribute widespread tooth loss among many young adults in Appalachia to over-consumption of sugary drinks. But, very often the cause is environmental pollutants and contaminated water supplies in the coal region. Please, see, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php/http/www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/nyregion/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1557793&mesg_id=1557793

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. Thanks for the additional info. Program showed a woman who looked to be 60, she was 36

She didn't have wrinkles, her upper teeth were missing giving her the look of an older person.

[leveymg]

20. A blood test would likely show heavy metals poisoning.

Lead, mercury, cadmium. That is all too common in coal mining areas, and occurs to a lesser degree to persons exposed over a long period to combustion of coal.

Just out of curiosity, why did you post that article? Thanks in advance. :hi:

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. Saw the special last night. Had never heard of "Mountain dew mouth". wanted to discuss the topic

[leveymg]

24. Thanks for posting that. Wonder why the ABC producers don't seem aware of the other cause

of "Mountain Dew Mouth."

[JVS]

26. But it's more fun to look down on those hoopies and their personal habits!

Blaming pollution is no fun at all.

[William769]

15. First Moutain Dew Soda TV Commercial HillBilly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyu4Tpoq8hc&feature=related

[William769]

16. Believe it or not this is the commercial that got me hooked Mountain Dew.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trvXN3Y__Kg

[Canuckistanian]

19. Did Mountain Dew always have caffeine?

We have Mountain Dew in Canada, too, but our version has no caffeine in it. I think it was banned by the government.

[sudopod]

21. Let us all feel superior to the poor hicks, har har har.

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[Modern_Matthew]

22. I come from an area they featured on that special...

Diane Sawyer and many of those who participated in the filming of that special are not well liked.

This region is always the target of media ratings and ridicule.

And despite the amount of attention brought to us, nothing ever changes.

[CBGLuthier]

28. Just one more fucking stupid look at the freak show in appalachia report

Fifty fucking years of people bemoaning conditions in Appalachia and not one god damned thing is ever fucking done.

They will be burying my uncle Jack in SE Kentucky tomorrow. In his entire 60 some years I doubt he ever made as much money as I or most of you have made in one single year. It is a depressingly poor part of the country that grinds down everyone who does not leave. I have seen talented and bright people who should have done something with their lives sink under the weight of that shithole mountain.

I am forever grateful that my mother left home at fifteen rather than stay in those god damned hills.

[Bluebear]

31. What does caffeine do to teeth?