Replace Your Toothbrush With Chewing Gum?

Dental News: University of Kentucky researchers have developed a chewing gum that can help replace both the toothpaste and a toothbrush, thus improving the health of soldiers in the field as well as children in poor countries.

That's right, Gum.

Developed via what's known as the "military gum project,", researchers have found that an antimicrobial, known as KSL, can be infused in chewing gum. KSL is anti-adhesive and abrasive agent that disrupts and helps dissolve plaque and, as every toothpaste commercial has told us for years, fighting plaque is key to good oral hygiene.

Since World War I, thousands of American soldiers have suffered from the extreme form of gingivitis that can result in painful ulcers, infection and bleeding gums. You've probably heard it called "trench mouth." Even today, about 15 percent of all U.S. Army sick calls are related to dental problems.

The gum could also be key in protecting children in impoverished nations from potentially deadly infections. For example, she said, children born with AIDs in Africa often have serious and painful dental problems. The gum could enhance their quality of life.