Teeth are for chewing: a critical review of the conceptualisation and ethics of a controversial intraoral weight-loss device

Abstract

We are a diverse collective of researchers who are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of marginalised individuals. This article is a response to, and critique of, the DentalSlim Diet Control research. This device revises a controversial 1970s weight-loss technology connected to poor health outcomes, which is indicative of a culture that consistently promotes harm to fat and other marginalised communities.We address the historical context in which unruly bodies, particularly fat, and Indigenous bodies have been the site of unethical investigation conducted under the auspices of medical research. Existence outside the normative white, male, cis physical ideal demands regulation, and disciplinary measures. We demonstrate how Brunton et al.'s research is underpinned by anti-fat attitudes and assumptions which impose this punitive physical intervention onto healthy people in a way that should not be acceptable in medical research.Further, we address a range of harms, giving attention to Māori and to individuals with eating disorders, along with issues of research integrity. We argue that no ethics committee should have approved this research, no academic journal should have published it, and no member of the dental and medical community should promote or prescribe this device.