Chewing gum that spots tooth trouble

CHEWING gum can identify those at risk of complications following a dental implant.

After losing a tooth, implants are now the preferred choice of many. But up to 15 per cent of people who have one go on to develop inflammation that can destroy underlying tissue and bone.

When prospective patients chewed on a special gum, developed at the Julius-MaximiliansUniversitat in Germany, it tasted bitter if there was already active inflammation in their mouth, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications. The idea is that the source of the inflammation can then be treated before the implant is inserted. The gum could be available commercially within three years.