40 years on! Sugar-free gum is still helping people take care of their teeth!
40 years on! Sugar-free gum is still helping people take care of their teeth!
Blog Article
Britons’ diets and oral health needs have changed dramatically since 1977, with many people no longer eating the traditional three meals a day - that oral health guidelines are based on - with 83% of adults in the UK saying they have at least one snack between main meals on a typical weekday. With so much eating on the go, traditional oral health methods aren’t cutting it. New research has found that morning and afternoon snacks are least likely to be followed by an oral care intervention, despite over half of UK adults being aware of the impact food and drink can have on their oral health.
Chewing sugar-free gum after eating and drinking can be a vital addition to our dental health routine, as it stimulates the production of saliva, which helps the neutralization of plaque acids. The oral care benefits of sugar-free gum are recognized by the FDI World Dental Federation and supported by national dental associations worldwide, including the Oral Health Foundation, but are not widely known by the public. Recent polling has shown only 36% chew sugar-free gum for oral health reasons; however, 42% of all those surveyed said they would be more likely to chew sugar-free gum after being told of its oral health benefits.
Michael Dodds, Senior Principal Oral Health Scientist for Wrigley, says, “Chewing sugar-free gum after eating and drinking is a great way to enhance the mouth’s natural ability to fight dental disease by neutralizing plaque acids and supporting tooth remineralization. Looking back to the state of the nation’s teeth when Wrigley launched the UK’s first sugar-free gum in 1977 makes you realize how far we have come, through a combination of government public health policies and individuals and families making healthier choices.
“There is still a long way to go before we end preventable oral health problems, but hopefully by working together, achieving this won’t take another 40 years.”
Back in the 1970s, the launch of the UK’s first sugar-free gum brand, ORBIT, chimed with a growing awareness of the need for better oral health after a rise in sugar consumption after the end of rationing.
The launch of ORBIT® in 1977 saw a wave of publicity highlighting the oral health benefits of chewing sugar-free gum. In the same year, the first public oral health education campaign was launched, Smile ’77 (now known as National Smile Month), and the General Dental Council launched a campaign to make people more aware of the daily routines needed to take care of their teeth, all signalling the start of a change in the dental profession’s focus from treating oral health problems to preventing them.
The combination of better awareness and new products made a marked difference to the nation’s oral health. Shockingly, in 1978, the Government’s Adult Dental Health Survey found that 28% of adults in the UK had no natural teeth. In the most recent survey in 2009, the figure was 6%. Today’s guidelines for oral health are at a similar turning point. The decline of traditional patterns of eating and the fact that many people choose to eat on the go mean that modern prevention strategies are having to adapt to promote an accessible, cheap, and easy oral healthcare regime.
CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, Dr. Nigel Carter OBE, says, “I vividly remember the era of drill-and-fill dentistry, where nearly everyone attending the practice would need some sort of tooth restoration. Things have changed so much; whilst there is still far too much tooth decay around, the dental team now spends almost as much time educating people on the best ways to take care of their teeth as treating problems. Chewing sugar-free gum after you eat was a step change in oral care in the 1970s and is even more relevant to our lifestyles today.”