Did that slice of pizza just burn the roof of your mouth off? That's what happens when you take a bite of something that just 30 seconds before was in a 500-degree oven. If we can't be relied on to use our own smarts when it comes to searing-hot pizza, at least science can step in and help us. Introducing pizza burn healing strips!
According to Discovery News, a group of researchers from the University of New Mexico and the University of Texas at Austin have designed strips to combat pizza mouth burn. The strips, which dissolve upon contact in your mouth (much like those breath-freshener strips), provide an anesthetic (benzocaine) to numb the pain and a therapeutic polymer to help heal the burn. The strips can be applied to the tongue, cheek, or roof of mouth. Lead researcher, Dr. Jason McConville, said the following in the official press release:
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.
Further testing is required before these hit the market, so in the meantime, take care of your mouth... and watch those hot pizza slices!
Via Discovery News
Related: Want Awesome Pizza? Turn Up The Oven
(Image: erwinova/Shutterstock)
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I imagine that college students around the world will rejoice once these become available for their hot pocket consumption.
I've just recovered from a particularly severe roof-of-mouth burn that lasted a full week. I hope I've learned my lesson, but of course that won't stop me from buying these strips as soon as possible!
While I rarely burn my mouth on pizza (probably because I hate cutting it when the cheese is hot, so it always sits for 5 minutes out of the oven), I'm completely incapable of eating soup/stew/chili without burning myself. Every. Single. Time.
I'd definitely buy some.
The punchline to this on SNL Weekend Update was: "finally a scientific alternative to waiting a minute!"
God bless science.
Sounds like a good solution for when you bite your tongue or the inside of your lip or cheek too.
"finally a scientific alternative to waiting a minute!"
if this wasn't so sad, i'd laugh
Oh man, this made me LOL! The roof of my mouth is healing from a hot pizza burn right now. I KNOW better and I really try to wait, but it just looks and smells so good. Glad I'm not the only one with no patience. Hmm, wonder if I can drive up to UT and get some testers?