And that by chewing it you are ingesting a bunch of microplastics? Please confirm if this is true. I don’t want to believe.

Side question: what alternative means is there for sustained, minty fresh breath that does not involve ingesting microplastics? (Mints don’t work that great imo, the freshness wears off too fast. Gum was my go-to. Now what is left?)

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[–] 5 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (3 children)

Microplastics specifically mean small bits, like hard plastic that's crumbled. Gum is more like a really soft rubber. If you swallow it, then that's a macroplastic. If you don't, it's fine, because it's not really flaking off.

Like someone else mentioned, they can also use natural, but still inedible ingredients to provide the chewyness, not just artificial polymers.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 9 hours ago* (2 children)

    I have a hard time believing that chewing a piece of plastic for thirty minutes would not cause you to ingest microplastics.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 hours ago (1 child)

    Depends on the plastic. Goo doesn't flake, regardless of how close you look. They actually use that principle to keep dust out of semiconductor cleanrooms.

    Although, if you're really worried, you could just suck on a breath mint. Probably get rid of any plastic kitchen utensils, as well. Those definitely shed particles.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 9 hours ago

    I’m sure industrial strength goo would not flake if you designed it for that purpose but I’m not sure if the pack of gum I bought for a few dollars in a vending machine would be of the same quality

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