Effect of sugar-free gum in addition to tooth brushing on dental plaque and interdental debris.
BACKGROUND
Chewing-gum may serve as an effective oral hygiene device when brushing may not be possible. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of chewing sugar-free gum twice a day after meals in addition to tooth brushing on dental plaque and interdental debris.


METHODS
Twenty four (12 males and 12 females aged 20-21 years) healthy third-year dental students participated in the study. It was a prospective single blind and non-randomized before and after study. The control group followed tooth brushing habit twice a day plus water rinsing after meals at noon and night for 10 days. The study group followed tooth brushing habit twice a day plus chewing one pellet of sugar-free gum after meals at noon and night for 30 minutes for 3 weeks. Personal hygiene performance index (PHP-M) was used to assess the dental plaque and self-designed interdental debris index for interdental debris. ANOVA, Tukey and 't' tests were used for data analysis. The level of significance was fixed at α = 0.05.


RESULTS
The baseline percentages of cumulative plaque and interdental debris were 63.12% and 76.44%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the plaque scores following either water rinsing (61.73%) or gum chewing (59.44%) after meals, but a statistically significant reduction of 14.18% in interdental debris was observed among those who chewed the gum (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
After meal, gum chewing in addition to daily tooth brushing reduced interdental debris, but had no effect on established buccal and lingual dental plaques.
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Dr. D.Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital, Pune, India.
Pradnya
P
Kakodkar
Soniya
S
Mulay