Study about changes in oral environment and improvement effects of gum chewing on oral environment in a situation that interrupts routine oral hygiene

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24659935
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Social dentistry
Research Institution	Kyushu University
Principal Investigator	SHIMAZAKI Yoshihiro 九州大学, 歯学研究科(研究院), 共同研究員 (10291519)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	YAMASHITA Yoshihisa 九州大学, 大学院歯学研究院, 教授 (20192403) TAKESHITA Toru 九州大学, 大学院歯学研究院, 准教授 (50546471)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2013)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Keywords	歯学 / 口腔清掃 / 口腔環境
Research Abstract	This randomized controlled intervention trial study has two major findings. First, this study indicates that sugar-free chewing gum may improve subjective oral condition in a situation that interrupts routine oral hygiene. Second, this study reveals that sugar-free chewing gum may dampen the increase in salivary bacteria quantity and composition during in this particular scenario, which serves as a marker of objective oral health. These findings provide evidence for the use of sugar-free chewing gum as a beneficial oral cleaning tool in conditions that prevent daily oral hygiene and conventional oral health maintenance.