Frontier’s latest independent report, commissioned by the Wrigley Oral Health Program, explores the health economic benefits of sugar-free gum, broadening our original analysis to include a number of countries with different dental care systems.

Frontier’s report for the Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program in 2023 focused on the UK and illustrated the potential for improving oral health through three preventive measures: (i) water fluoridation; (ii) sugar-free gum (SFG); and (iii) supervised brushing. 

In this current report, we again consider the use of SFG as an intervention for improving oral health through prevention. In addition to revisiting and updating our UK analysis, we illustrate the potential impact of SFG for: (i) Australia; (ii) China; (iii) France; and (iv) Germany.

Chewing SFG can support good oral health by stimulating saliva production, which contributes to neutralising plaque acids, maintaining tooth mineralisation and removing harmful micro-organisms.

Frontier modelled the potential impact on dental costs – for both health systems and for patients – of chewing SFG. We did this in four stages:

1. We gathered together the published evidence on SFG-use as a preventive intervention.
2. We identified the reduction in oral health problems (e.g. tooth decay) that is estimated to result from chewing SFG.
3. We estimated the dental treatments (e.g. tooth extractions) that could be avoided as a result.
4. We estimated the cost saving to the health system and the patients from avoided dental treatments for each country.

Our findings suggest that SFG could play a valuable role in improving the oral health of the population of a country. In particular, the findings highlight the potential for SFG to serve as a cost-effective public health intervention, particularly in reducing the economic burden associated with preventable oral health issues.

Please click here to read the full report, The benefits of sugar-free gum – international analysis.

For more information, please contact media@frontier-economics.com or call +44 (0) 20 7031 7000.