A future of needleless vaccinations can be seen on the horizon as a study of administering medicine via dental floss shows extremely promising results, according to researchers in North Carolina. 

According to Dr. Harvinder Gill, the lead researcher of the study, this unconventional vaccine application was inspired by a paper about gum disease. It says that the pockets of gum between the sides of the teeth could absorb molecules extremely well.

To test its efficacy, the idea was first tested on mice. During the test run, it was discovered that coating floss with a fluorescently labeled protein allowed 75 percent of the protein to be delivered to the mouse’s gums. Remarkably, even two months after flossing, the mice still showed elevated antibody levels in their lungs, noses, feces, and spleens.

In the next phase, researchers coated the floss with an inactive flu virus to trigger immunity and were applied to fifty mice who were flossed every two weeks for 28 days, then exposed to the live flu virus. All flossed mice survived, while unvaccinated ones died.

The treated mice showed a strong systemic response, with flu antibodies in saliva, feces, lungs, spleens, and even bone marrow, along with more T cells and larger lymph nodes.

According to Rohan Ingrole of Texas Tech University, the study’s first author, this test shows positive results. “We found that applying vaccine via the junctional epithelium produces far superior antibody response on mucosal surfaces than the current gold standard for vaccinating via the oral cavity, which involves placing vaccine under the tongue,” he explains.

“The flossing technique also provides comparable protection against flu virus as compared to the vaccine being given via the nasal epithelium,” Ignore added.

The study was then tested on humans. Food dye-coated floss were given to 27 volunteers and was found to have 60 percent effectively delivered the dye to the participant’s gums.

Despite this, researchers noted that it is unclear whether the approach would work in young children who don’t yet have teeth. As of writing, results on whether it has the same efficacy in administering medicine are still not out.

Nonetheless, experts say that this method is clever and may revolutionize vaccines in the future as floss-based vaccines could be a much cheaper, effective, and painless alternative to injectable medicines.