RT  - Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry
ID  - 10.17796/jcpd.38.1.c0tm02w572488064
T1  - A Randomized Trial on the Inhibitory Effect of Chewing Gum Containing Tea Polyphenol on Caries
A1  - Dan-Ying Tao
A1  - Chen-Bin Shu
A1  - Edward Chin Man Lo
A1  - Hai-Xia Lu
A1  - Xi-Ping Feng
K1  - Chewing gum
K1  - tea polyphenol
K1  - dental caries
K1  - prevention
YR  - 2013
SP  - 67
AB  - <p><strong>Objective:</strong> The purpose of the study was to determine the cariostatic potential of a chewing gum containing tea polyphenol. <strong>Study design</strong>: A total of 157 schoolchildren aged 8-9 years were randomly allocated into three groups. Two groups received chewing gum with or without tea polyphenol. A third group did not receive any chewing gum. A single examiner assessed the caries status for all participates at baseline, 12 months and 24 months. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to evaluate differences among the groups at each interval. The Chi-square test was used to compare the caries-free rate among the three groups. <strong>Results</strong>: The mean DMFT increment was 0.17 for the polyphenol gum group, 0.60 for the control gum group, and 1.15 for the no gum group. Children who chewed gum containing tea polyphenol had a significantly lower mean DMFS increment over the 24-month period than did the other two groups (p &lt; 0.05). The caries-free rate in the polyphenol gum group was significantly higher than that in the other two groups (p &lt; 0.05) after two years. <strong>Conclusion</strong>: These findings indicated that the oral application of chewing gum with tea polyphenol has an inhibitory effect on dental caries.</p>