2024 Volume 74 Issue 4 Pages 265-273
Modified DOMACⓇ was developed to maintain and improve oral hygiene. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in tongue hygiene and psychological factors due to chewing gum containing modified DOMACⓇ in subjects who were aware of problems with their oral environment and had elevated bacteria counts on their tongues. Fifty-five subjects (30 males and 25 females) with a bacterial count of ≥1.00×107 CFU/mL on the tongue were divided into a control group and treatment group, and were given the test food (gum containing modified DOMACⓇ) or control food (gum without modified DOMACⓇ) twice a day (2 pieces/time) for 4 weeks. The number of bacteria on the tongue coating in the treatment group showed a significant decrease after 4 weeks compared with the baseline (p<0.01), and was significantly lower than that of the control group (p<0.05). The Tongue Coating Index also showed no significant changes after 4 weeks in the control group, but a significant decrease after 4 weeks in the treatment group (p<0.05). The percentage of positive responses to the questionnaire increased significantly in both the groups after 4 weeks compared to baseline (p<0.01), but there were no significant differences between the groups. Furthermore, with regard to psychological factors, both the control and treatment showed improvement in their negative mood state after 4 weeks (p<0.05). Comparison between the control and treatment groups revealed significant differences in the “Depression-Depression” item after 4 weeks (p<0.05). The results of this study suggest that chewing gum containing modified DOMACⓇ is effective in reducing the number of bacteria on the tongue coating of those who have elevated bacteria counts, and also in alleviating negative psychological states.
