title: Effect of fluoride-containing chewing gum on remineralization of carious lesions and on fluoride uptake in man.
abstract: The remineralization effect of chewing gum containing fluoride (F) was studied on natural carious lesions. Maxillary acrylic appliances carrying the carious enamel sections were worn by three subjects. After 3 days of chewing 15 sticks of fluoride gum (Fluogum, containing 0.113 mg F/stick sweetened with xylitol/sorbitol), there was a significant reduction in both lesion depth and in the size of the body of the lesion (p less than 0.001). Exposure of carious lesions to 3 days in an oral environment without fluoride supplement reduced the size of the body of the lesions by an average of 5% (p less than 0.05). Chewing one or two sticks of the gum for 15 minutes raised the salivary-fluoride concentration to a peak of 1.13 ppm 5 minutes after chewing one stick, and raised the concentration to 2.73 ppm 10 minutes after chewing two sticks. The area under the curve of salivary-fluoride concentration versus time obtained following chewing one and two sticks were 0.78 h.microgram/ml and 1.89 h.micrograms/ml, respectively. There was a high positive correlation (r = 0.78) between the saliva flow and elimination of fluoride. Plaque fluoride level increased 1.7 fold following chewing two sticks of gum (p less than 0.05). The effect of chewing two sticks (a dose of 0.226 mg F) on plasma fluoride level was negligible, an indication of the safety of chewing gum regimen. More work is needed to document the cariostatic efficacy of a fluoride-containing chewing gum.
authors.forename: F N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Hattab
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Mok
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002638:Chewing Gum; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D002638:Chewing Gum; D005459:Fluorides