Sugar-free gum ‘can help unlock significant dental care savings’

Encouraging children to chew sugar-free gum after eating or drinking could greatly reduce the amount of money the NHS spends on dental care.

This is according to a new study carried out by the York Health Economics Consortium and the Peninsula Dental School at Plymouth University, which was the first of its kind in the UK and was recently published in the British Dental Journal.

If all 12-year-olds across the UK were to chew one additional piece of sugar-free gum per day, the NHS could save up to 2.8 million pounds on dental treatments per year, rising to 3.3 million pounds if two pieces were chewed and hitting 8.2 million pounds for three pieces.

Chewing this type of gum on a regular basis during the day has been shown to be effective in neutralising harmful plaque acids and reducing the risk of tooth decay.

Professor Liz Kay of the Peninsula Dental School said: "Clinical evidence has already proved that sugar-free gum can help prevent caries, and now we can also see a clear financial advantage."