Aim: The aim was to evaluate the effect of sugar-free chewing gum containing casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) and xylitol on salivary Streptococcus mutans.
Materials and methods: A total of 60 dental students of 20-25 years old, who volunteered after checking their health condition and signing an informed consent, were randomly allocated to receive one of the following interventions: (A) Chewing gum containing CPP-ACP; (B) containing xylitol. Subjects within the experimental groups were taken the gums 3 times daily, after each meal for a period of 3 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention unstimulated saliva samples were quantified for S. mutans counts.
Results: A statistically significant reduction of salivary S. mutans was displayed in both groups A and B after the intervention when compared with baseline (P < 0.001), and group A shows more statistically significant reduction of salivary S. mutans than group B (P = 0.011).
Conclusion: Daily consumption of chewing gum containing CPP-ACP and xylitol significantly reduces the level of salivary S. mutans, but chewing gum containing CPP-ACP can reduce the level of salivary S. mutans in more than xylitol chewing gum.
Keywords: Caries; Streptococcus mutans; casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate; chewing gum; xylitol.