The Effect of Chewing Gum Containing Casein Phosphopeptide-Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (CPP-ACP) and Xylitol on Dental Caries Prevention in Students

Abstract

       This research was quasi-experimental, three groups repeated measures design. The aim was to evaluate and compare dental plaque and tooth decay after using gums containing casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) and gums containing xylitol in students. The sample group consisted of 90 students, divided into 3 groups by simple random sampling. A group of 30 students received one of the following interventions: experimental group 1 used chewing gums containing CPP-ACP, experimental group 2 used chewing gums containing xylitol, and control group. The experimental groups chew gums for 10 minutes, 2 times a day for 16 weeks. The dental plaque was assessed 5 times: before the trial, week 4^th, week 8^th, week 12^th, and week 16^th. Dental caries were assessed twice, before and after the trial.  Reliability of dental plaque and dental caries examination was Kappa coefficient between 0.82 - 0.88.  The data were analyzed by Descriptive statistics, Friedman test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann Whitney U Test.  The result showed that there was a statistically significant decrease in dental plaque level in experimental groups, experimental group 1 had mean dental plaque of 1.10, 0.83, 0.40, 0.16, and 0.13 ( = 75.835, P-value < 0.001), and experimental group 2 had mean dental plaque of 1.00, 0.93, 0.51, 0.16, and 0.14 ( = 66.905, P-value < 0.001), and less dental plaque than the control group. Experimental group 1 (Z= -1.000, P-value = 0.500) and experimental group 2 (Z= -1.414, P-value = 0.250) dental caries did not increase compared to before the trial, and less tooth decay than control group ( = 7.164, P-value = 0.030). Suggestions that chewing gum containing CPP-ACP or xylitol, 1 tablet for 10 minutes, can reduce dental plaque.