Here at Commuter Central, we're enthusiastic proponents of better dental hygiene.

So we were overjoyed with this topical marriage of two of our favorite things: toothpaste and sustainable transportation.

The enterprising ad department of Elmex toothpaste bought space on the back side of transit passes of a Israeli public transit authority and put a photo of a mouthful of teeth along w/ an picture of a tube of toothpaste.

Each time the rider showed the pass to the bus driver, one of the teeth was punched to reveal a mouth full of ever-increasing cavities with a reminder to brush (and of course, buy Elmex toothpaste).

To us, these seemingly incongruent transit-dental connections are not out of body experiences. Witness:

- We all want to be healthy. A healthy heart means a healthy body.

- Researchers at Polytechnic and Cornell universities found those that rode transit to work were four times as likely to walk 10,000 steps a day than those that drove alone.

- Those with dental problems often caused by poor dental hygience seem to have higher levels of heart plaque.

So keep your teeth fresh and clean, jump on that bus, and live a healthy, happy life.

Image courtesy of www.funnycommercialsworld.com