News

Wrigley has become the latest partner to join Vision 2020, an FDI initiative to raise the political profile of oral health among public health officials and other decision-makers at national and international level.

“Wrigley has been a long-time keen supporter of FDI work and I’m delighted they have agreed to sign on to our ambitions in oral health advocacy by strengthening the activities and goals of Vision 2020,” said FDI President Dr Patrick Hescot. “This support will enable us to position oral health where it needs to be: high on the global health agenda.”

“Wrigley is very supportive of the Vision 2020 ambition, to drive awareness among governments and health authorities of the human and economic cost of oral disease, and to develop strategies to address this burden,” said Matthew Kent, Senior Corporate Affairs Manager, Global Oral Care. “Through Vision 2020 we have an opportunity to change behaviours at a grass-roots level, to focus more on prevention oriented oral health care.”

Launched in 2012, Vision 2020 provided a map of the challenges facing the oral health community, which were to:

• Meet the increasing need and demand for oral health care
• Expand the role of the health-care professional
• Shape a responsive educational model
• Mitigate the impacts of socio-economic dynamics
• Foster fundamental and translational research and technology

Today, FDI global advocacy and Vision 2020 have merged into common strategy with a twin focus: on the one hand, ensuring the oral health community is aligned and equipped to put pressure on national governments to address oral disease within national health action plans; on the other ensuring that FDI member national dental associations and the wider oral health community are represented in the international health policy debate.

Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program
The Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program (WOHP) partners with dental professionals worldwide, helping them improve their patients’ oral health through one additional simple and enjoyable step in their daily routine: chewing sugarfree gum after eating and drinking on-the-go. For more than 25 years, WOHP has supported independent clinical research into the benefits of chewing gum, including saliva stimulation, plaque acid neutralization and tooth strengthening to help dental professionals and their patients understand the role of sugarfree gum as a convenient tool for everyday oral care. WOHP is one example of how we make a difference to people and the planet through performance, and how we incorporate our principles based approach to business into all that we do.

By: Michael Dodds, BDS, PhD

A new review of the most up-to-date scientific research reinforces the positive effects of sugar-free gum (SFG) on oral health and emphasizes the identification of active ingredients in gum that could facilitate prevention and removal of oral biofilm.

The review confirmed the oral health benefits of chewing sugar-free gum, including the clearance of food debris, reduction in oral dryness, increase of biofilm pH, remineralization of enamel, freshening breath through the reduction of volatile sulfur compounds and inhibition of extrinsic tooth stain. These benefits are attributed to increased mastication and salivation. The authors say that with the addition of active ingredients in chewing gums, it may be possible to expand these benefits to also include:

• Enhanced inhibition of extrinsic tooth stain and calculus formation.
• Enhanced enamel remineralization.
• Reduction of the numbers of bacteria in saliva and amount of oral biofilm.
• Neutralization of biofilm pH.
• Enhanced reduction of halitosis.

The analysis, which was published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery in May 2016, looked at the evidence for oral health benefits of chewing SFG, citing 138 articles, and drawing findings from 69 papers. Its emphasis was on identifying active ingredients in gum that facilitate the prevention and removal of oral biofilm. The evidence shows that while chewing gum can allow active ingredients to be gradually released into the oral cavity, they have a low potency and are rapidly washed out from the oral cavity by increased salivation. Furthermore, the health benefits from increased salivation and mastication may easily overshadow the additional benefits of added active ingredients unless used for prolonged periods of time, making it hard to demonstrate their clinical benefits.

Oral diseases develop when the balance within the oral microbiome is lost and pathogenic bacteria start to dominate. This occurs, for instance, when cariogenic strains in a biofilm produce an excess of acids through fermentation of environmental sugars causing enamel demineralization or when peridontopathogens residing mostly in gingival pockets cause gingivitis or, in more advanced state, periodontitis.

The review confirms the well-documented benefits of chewing SFG associated with increased mastication and salivation, many of which are supported by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Chewing SFG results in a 10-fold increase in salivary flow rate, which enhances the ability of saliva to clear the mouth of food debris and sugars, neutralize acids and support remineralization, all of which can help to reduce the incidence of dental caries.

While data points to specific benefits for certain active ingredients, such as xylitol, carbamide and polyphosphates, the authors state longer term clinical trials are needed to confirm these benefits. Future studies on active ingredients should focus specifically on targeting pathogenic bacteria, whilst leaving the healthy microbiome unaffected. However, the authors of the review conclude that the basic benefits of the long-term chewing of SFG due to increased mastication and salivation are beyond dispute.

About the author

Michael Dodds, BDS, PhD is Oral Health Lead Scientist at the Wrigley Company, based in Chicago, with responsibility for developing scientific support for the oral health benefits of chewing sugar-free gum. He holds a dental degree from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Dental Science from the University of Liverpool. Prior to joining Wrigley in 2002, Dr. Dodds was Associate Professor of Community Dentistry, San Antonio, Texas, and is currently also adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at the UIC College of Dentistry, Chicago.

• Smile Spectrum Waiting Room Poster 1.8M PDF
• Smile_Spectrum_Leaflet 1.8M PDF
• Smile_Spectrum_Window_Sticker 600K PDF
• Teens_and_teeth_infographic_digital 400K PDF
• Teens_and_teeth_infographic_print 500K PDF

Six fold increase in entries received for the 2015 award

The Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program is delighted to announce the three winners of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR)-Wrigley Salivary Research Award. Now in its sixth year, the annual award celebrates dental scientists, dental students and non-dental students, from around the world, who have made a significant contribution to salivary research. This year, more than 90 entries (in the form of abstracts) were submitted to the award, which covers three categories:

• Basic Salivary Research Award for a Dental or Non-Dental Student
• Clinical Salivary Research Award for Dental Students
• Clinical Salivary Research Award for Dental Scientists

2015 Winners

• Yuliya Mulyar, The University of Western Ontario, Canada, Wrigley Basic Salivary Research Award for a Dental or Non-Dental Student ($2,000)
  • Abstract: Anti-Cariogenic Effect of a Novel Encapsulation System for Salivary Proteins
• Brady Petersen, The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wrigley Clinical Salivary Research Award for Dental Students ($1,500)
  • Abstract: Exosome Analysis: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma MicroRNA Isolation in Culture
• Eduardo Moffa, The University of Western Ontario, Canada, Wrigley Clinical Salivary Research Award for Dental Scientists ($1,500)
  • Abstract: Identification of Histatin 5 Salivary Complexes Using Mass Spectrometry