I kid you not, some clever people out there have developed a sweet that could actually be good for your teeth.
So how does it work? It is the addition of a heat killed strain of Lactobacillus paracasei, known to bind to bacteria that can cause tooth decay (Streptococci) that is the sweets weapon against tooth decay.
Sixty people took part in the trial which involved them sucking on a sweet 3 times a day after meals and collecting saliva samples before and after for analysis of Streptococci content. The placebo was the same sweet without the addition of the Lactobacillus. People in the group with L. paracasei in their sweets had less Streptococci in their saliva than the placebo group.
The researchers say that by using killed L. paracasei they are able to positively influence the oral microflora without the risk factors involved in adding a live culture.
Interesting stuff indeed, I hope they add to it chewing gum soon.
The paper is freely available from the Springer Journals website.