What do our dentists do with our saliva?

In the good old days, we could rinse and spit into sinks. But now we have these suction tubes that remind me of Dementors in Harry Potter. Every time I close my lips around the tiny vacuum I suppress a tiny wave of panic. I watch the clear tube of blood and water and chips of tooth twist and wind it's way not into the sink... but into a canister?

So, my question is, to the dentists on ATS - I'm sure there must be many dentists, right?

Do you know if the system set up in your offices, lead these tubes into your drainage system?

Or is it because of mercury and other metals (gold / silver...) in our old fillings that this is now "biowaste" and you have services that take away all you're sucking out?

Do you know where it goes?

Do you know a name of the service or the biggest company that provides this service if it exists?

Just curious.

reply to post by trusername


I bet each persons saliva goes into a separate container and they use the dna they capture from our saliva and the appt information to build a dna database for every person that goes to the dentist. Thanks for helping me realize this. I never stopped to think about it before.

reply to post by grapesofraft


You know, we laugh, but it's also the first thing we'll all think here on ATS, right?

I'm not suggesting that dentists have the time or inclination to be involved in a conspiracy (apart from braces for everyone to pay off their mortgages just kidding...) Dentists are great and necessary!

But, dentists could be following a "biowaste" law and a waste management system could be whisking everything away. And I'm just curious if it is... who and where?





[edit on 6/11/2009 by trusername]

They make giant spitballs out it and sell it to reptilians so they can clone your dna...

It goes down the drain, I watched them fix the tube last time I was in the office because it broke.

I'm no dentist but involved in veterinary dentistry...there is no mandate for saliva of animals but we have to be enrolled in a bio waste program that is government regulated (in Canada) tumors, sharps, chemicals from x-ray development need to be accounted for, a license to dispose of such waste is a cost yearly and is mandatory or else! I would imagine dentists office are regulated the same way, I wonder about saliva... from humans anyway from animals (so far) the drain is allowed.

reply to post by tiredoflooking


Good to know! And interesting.

It might be a little different for humans since animals don't get fillings and wouldn't have mercury, gold and silver issues.

A really interesting question, S&F for you.

I asked my wife who is a dental assistant and dental lab tech.

Here is her answer and I quote.

"Where the hell do you think it goes? It goes to the same place it goes when it is spit into the sink. If all you are going to do is sit at a computer and play on a site that asks stupid questions then you need to turn it off and get your a@@ in bed."


(sigh) I love my wife.

reply to post by secretagent woooman



Yes, the reptilians need it, because they get dry mouth, sticking their tongues out to hear us better all the time. Like snakes

I could see that broken tubes would be diverted to a sink. And that a great many dentists don't have the modern systems and still use the sinks all the time (wish I could find one in San Francisco actually).

But mine doesn't go to a sink. It goes to a canister - which maybe gets dumped out into their sink? yuck.

But it looks more sealed then that.

reply to post by jd140


Your wife sounds like she might be my husband's sister

They're clearly in cahoots and it's the great cover up - to keep us in the dark

The funny thing is, I asked the dental assistant at my dentist's and she looked surprised and said she'd never thought about it. We followed the loooooooong tube together... and ended up at the canister. The admin who would know what happens with supplies and waste removal etc. was at lunch...

And so I turn to you... as one does with the big questions in life... about things like spit.

reply to post by trusername



I'm pretty sure they sell it to moms across the world...


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4ba6a7adb2b6.gif[/atsimg]

Originally posted by Tim Meadows
[mod edit: ill-mannered comments removed]

Later dude...




[edit on 11-6-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

Great observational question,I once was told that Fillings were inserted with prototype experimental eavesdropping bugs, courtesy of cold war dynamics.

Many people could hear radio in their head via the fillings.

This was dismissed as a receive only anomoly, but who knows.

Oh and how many people who hear voices in their heads have fillings?

Perhaps mass murderers are controled and ordered this way.

Dentists are spooky people.

reply to post by chapter29



And to envelope lickers!

What a racket - we should demand a cut!


I mean apart from the gold and silver extraction which would be relatively easy and perhaps financially worth it?

I'm trying to think what could be the benefits of separating biowaste from regular incinerated waste for hospitals? And for dentists - and filtered liquid sewage waste I think is more of a problem.

Concentrated Fluoride treatments etc. There could be a lot of reasons for not letting the concentrations go down the drain, I guess.

I actually have a little trouble thinking of sinister reasons for capturing it... apart from science fiction ones.

Some places recylce water. Spit doesn't do very well in the filters so spitting in the sink or water fountain is a big no no.

If thats the case then I imagine that it is labeled biowaste and destroyed.

reply to post by Dr Conspire



I have to admit, every time I hear about some poor soul - just going off and wiping out his / her family to the surprise of all those around them... I get a little whisper wonder... "Did someone push a button?"

It's very 12 Monkeys - or what was the name of that movie with Bruce Willis - where he pulls his teeth in the tub ouch -

reply to post by jd140


Gotta love a society that labels and destroys

What could go wrong with that?

I wonder more why hospitals would incinerate biowaste separately from regular waste more than why liquid sewage waste would be separated at dentists.

But I think that biowaste is more to prevent dumpster diggers from getting sick, come to think of it.





[edit on 6/11/2009 by trusername]

reply to post by trusername


In the case of spit. Nothing could go wrong.

I don't think a truck full of spit that tips over on the highway would be a big concern to alot of people.

reply to post by jd140


yuck - the images we're conjuring


I remember a doctor friend telling me that you'd have to drink a pint of spit from an HIV patient before you needed to worry about getting tested.

Comforting thought if you were sneezed on a lot in an AIDS ward, I suppose. But still no help with all the other illnesses medical personnel meet up with.