Medicated chewing gum can significantly decrease common oral health complications in older adults, according to a study published in the August issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
For one year, researchers at Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas Dental Institute in the United Kingdom tracked the oral health of more than 100 people 60 years of age and older who lived in senior residences.
Researchers divided subjects into three groups: those who chewed two pieces of a chlorhexidine acetate/xylitol, or ACHX, gum twice daily for 15 minutes at a time; those who chewed a gum medicated with only xylitol at the same frequency and duration as those in the first group; and those who chewed no gum at all.
Patients in the ACHX group experienced a 91 percent reduction in the occurrence of thrush, an oral yeast infection that can cause mouth soreness and ill-fitting dentures. There also was a 75 percent reduction in cases of angular cheilitis in the same group. These conditions were diminished, though not as dramatically, in the xylitol group. There was no significant change in the occurrence of either condition in subjects who did not chew gum.
The researchers believe their findings make a case for medicated gums as "a potential adjunct to other oral hygiene procedures in older subjects."
