Chewing gum is the word—and a new study links chewing the right kind to a decrease in preterm birth and low birth weight 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 Washington University School of Medicine.
Valentine’s team followed two groups of pregnant women for three years in Malawi – 4,500 xylitol gum while 5,500 received counseling and medication.
The chewing gum led to a 24% decrease in preterm births – when the mother gives birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy – and a 30% decrease in low birth weight births. Less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces is considered low birth weight.
Research has linked gum disease during pregnancy to a two- to three-fold increase in both of these problems.
These are the main issues in Malawi. About 70% of pregnant women there suffer from gum disease, Valentine said, and premature birth occurs in up to 20% of cases.
Malawi has one of the highest rates of premature births globally. In the US, preterm birth represents about 10% of births each year.
And gum disease affects about 40% of US adults over the age of 30.
The authors of the new study report that one 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 preventing gum disease include deep cleaning to remove plaque and encouraging good oral hygiene – but this can be difficult in low-resource countries like Malawi due to a shortage of health care workers , supplies and clean running water.
Xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol used by gum brands such as Orbit and Trident, has been shown to reduce the growth of bacteria strongly associated with gum disease and reduce inflammation in gum tissue.
But the sugar substitute isn’t without downsides — researchers have found that 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 for dogs.
Valentine’s team is following 1,000 babies born during the study to see if xylitol in pregnancy affects the child’s development, growth, hearing or vision. These results are expected in 2027.
Malawi’s initial findings were published this week in the journal Med.
The study authors also plan to test xylitol gum in pregnancies in lower-resource communities in the Seattle area.
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