Chewing chitosan-containing gum effectively inhibits the growth of cariogenic bacteria.
OBJECTIVE
We have already reported that chitosan inhibited the growth of cariogenic bacteria in vitro. This study was designed to evaluate whether chewing gum, containing chitosan, can effectively suppressed the growth of oral bacteria (total bacteria, total Streptococci, mutans streptococci (MS)) in saliva.


METHODS
Fifty healthy subjects, ranging in age from 19 to 32 years, were recruited from among the staff and students of Nagasaki University School of Dentistry. For the slab of gum study, the subjects chewed gum for 5 min and then rested for 5 min. Each subject chewed a total of eight pieces of gum, which was either supplemented with or without chitosan, for a total of 80 min. Two different types of gums were examined with at least 1 week as a rest period in between treatments. This in vivo study was carried out by the double blind comparison test.


RESULTS
The amount of oral bacteria was found to significantly decrease in the chitosan group. Especially, the number of MS were maintained at about a 20% level in comparison to that before gum chewing, even at 1h after gum chewing.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that a supplementation of chitosan to gum is an effective method for controlling the number of cariogenic bacteria in situations where it is difficult to brush one's teeth, such as when an individual is away from home all day or participating in outdoor training.
Hayashi
Yoshihiko
Y
Department of Cariology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Sakamoto 1-7-1, Nagasaki, Japan. hayashi@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Ohara
Naoko
N
Ganno
Tomoko
T
Yamaguchi
Keiji
K
Ishizaki
Takahide
T
Nakamura
Taisuke
T
Sato
Makoto
M
D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D002638:Chewing Gum; D048271:Chitosan / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D012463:Saliva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000187:drug effects; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002638:Chewing Gum; D048271:Chitosan