Gum’s the word — and a new study links chewing the right kind to a decrease in preterm birth and delivery of low-birthweight babies in an impoverished African country.
“It surprised us all that such a simple intervention could have such a dramatic effect,” said lead study author Dr. Greg Valentine, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Valentine’s team followed two groups of pregnant women over three years in Malawi — 4,500 chewed xylitol gum while 5,500 received counseling and medication.
The chewing gum led to a 24% reduction in preterm birth — when the mother gives birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy — and a 30% drop in low-birthweight deliveries. Less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces is considered low birthweight.
Research has linked gum disease during pregnancy to a two- to threefold increase in both of these problems.
These are major issues in Malawi. About 70% of the pregnant women there suffer from gum disease, Valentine said, and preterm birth occurs up to 20% of the time.
Malawi has one of the highest rates of preterm birth globally. In the US, preterm birth represents about 10% of births annually.
And gum disease affects about 40% of US adults over 30.
The authors of the new study report that a cubic millimeter of dental plaque typically contains about 100 million bacteria, which can cause inflammation and infection that spreads throughout the body.
Traditional methods of curbing gum disease include deep cleaning to remove plaque and encouraging good oral hygiene — but that can be difficult in low-resource countries like Malawi because of shortages of healthcare workers, supplies and clean running water.
Xylitol, a naturally occurring sugar alcohol used by gum brands such as Orbit and Trident, has been shown to reduce the growth of bacteria strongly linked to gum disease and decrease inflammation in gum tissues.
But the sugar substitute is not without downsides — researchers have found high levels of xylitol can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, can cause digestive problems like gas and diarrhea and can be deadly to dogs.
Valentine’s team is tracking 1,000 children born during the study to see if xylitol in pregnancy affects child development, growth, hearing or vision. Those results are expected in 2027.
The initial Malawi findings were published this week in the journal Med.
The study authors also plan to test xylitol gum in pregnancies in lower-resourced communities in the Seattle area.
