Chewing gum microbiome
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effect of chewing gum use on the composition of the oral microbiome
IRAS ID
161931
Contact name
William Wade
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Chewing gum is known to help keep the teeth clean. Chewing gum can also be used to deliver additional substances to the mouth to provide further oral health benefits. The aim of this study is to supplement chewing gum with the sugar alcohol maltitol. Subjects with active tooth decay will use the gum with and without maltitol. The effect of chewing on the types and numbers of bacteria found in dental plaque will be assessed. Forty patients with active dental caries will be recruited from patients attending the Guy's and St Thomas's Dental Hospital. Twenty orally healthy volunteers will be recruited from among the staff and students of King's College London. Subjects will use either maltitol-containing or placebo chewing gum for two weeks. Plaque samples will be collected before and after chewing gum use. Samples will be anonymised after collection and before submission to the analysis laboratory.Subjects will attend the clinic for two visits. Visit 1 will take around an hour and a half (30 minutes for PIS, consent and various questionnaires; 30 minutes for various oral assessments; 10 minutes for an oral examination and 20 minutes for plaque collection) and visit 2 will take 30 minutes (10 minutes for oral examination and 20 minutes for plaque collection). The duration of the study for each subject will be between 4-6 weeks.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
14/NI/1107
Date of REC Opinion
30 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion