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Table 1 Summary characteristics of included studies

From: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the role of sugar-free chewing gum on Streptococcus mutans

Study citation

Intervention

Daily frequency/amount/chew-time

Participant characteristics

Duration of follow up

Study design

Control group

Effect size (95% CI)

Hoerman [16]

Xylitol for 10 weeks

Chewed 5 times a day for 10 min

N = 30 dental students

10 weeks

RCT

No gum

− 0.31 (− 1.21, 0.59)

Hildebrandt and Sparks [17]

Xylitol for 3 months

Chewed 3 times a day for 5 min (after each meal)

N = 151; adults

3 months

RCT

No gum

− 0.70 (− 1.09, − 0.31)

Thaweboon et al. [18]

55% xylitol and 100% xylitol for 90 days

Chewed 3 times a day for 5 min

N = 91 schoolchildren aged 10–12

90 days

Other-controlled trial

No gum

− 0.57 (− 1.00, − 0.13)

Makinen et al. [19]

Xylitol and d-glucitol for 6 months

Chewed 4 times a day for 5 min

N = 123, kindergarten children

6 months

RCT

No gum

− 0.40 (− 0.84, 0.04)

Wang et al. [20]

Sugar free gum for 14 days

Chewed 5 times a day for 10 min

N = 40 adults

2 weeks

RCT

No gum

− 0.86 (− 1.48, − 0.24)

Haresaku et al. [21]

Xylitol and malatol for 6 months

Chewed 3 times a day for 5 min (after each meal)

N = 128 adults

6 months

Patient preference non-randomised trial

No gum

− 0.10 (− 0.55, 0.34)

Calgar et al. [22]

Xylitol 21 days

Chewed 3 times a day for 10 min

N = 60 adults (age range 21–24 years)

3 weeks

RCT

Placebo gum

− 1.33 (− 2.18, − 0.48)

Campus et al. [23]

Xylitol for 9 months

Chewed 5 times a day for 5 min

N = 176 children aged 7–9

9 months

RCT

Placebo gum

− 0.01 (− 0.32, 0.31)

Hildebrandt et al. [24]

Xylitol for 3 months

Chewed 3 times a day for 5 min

N = 105 adults

3 months

RCT

No gum

− 0.76 (− 1.23, − 0.28)

Seki et al. [25]

Xylitol gum over 3 months

Chewed 4 times/day (after breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner) for 5 min

N = 161 children aged 3–4 years

9 months

RCT

Control gum

− 0.33 (− 0.64, − 0.02)

Alamoudi et al. [26] and Hanno et al. [27]

Xylitol gum over 3 months

Chewed 3 times a day for 5 min

N = 34 mother–child dyads

18 months

RCT

Fluoride varnish

− 0.66 (− 1.65, 0.32)

Al-Haboubi et al. [28]

Xylitol gum over 6 months

Chewed 2 times daily for 15 min

N = 186 adults aged over 60 years

6 months

RCT

No gum

− 0.23 (− 0.56, 0.10)

Ghassemi et al. [29]

Xylitol for 4 weeks

Chewed 3 times a day for 5 min

N = 50 adults (female university students)

4 weeks

RCT

Probiotic

− 0.18 (− 0.74, 0.37)