Synopsis Chewing gums now a day are mostly sweetened with sugar substitutes. The predominant sugar substitutes are polyols. The most common polyols used are sorbitol (A) and xylitol (B) . Various pilot studies have reported that chewing a sugar‑free gum can increase the initial salivary flow rate by a factor of 10 in addition to its buffering action induced by stimulation of saliva.
Saliva stimulated effectively dissolve and remove soluble fermentable substrates from the oral cavity, increases the pH of plaque, and promote remineralization of early carious lesion, thus preventing plague and gingivitis. The study was therefore conducted to evaluate the effect of chewing gum on plaque and gingivitis among school going children of (14–15) year of age. This week's 'MED FACT' discusses a clinical trial from Indian Journal of Dental Research, “Effect of Sugar‑free Chewing Gum on Plaque and…
