I happened to be watching The Food Network channel the other evening and saw a show dealing with chewing/bubble gum. One of the products featured was a bubble gum by name of Quench made specifically for dry mouth problems. It seems to be quite popular with atheletes according to the show. I thought I would try and find some the next day and found small packages of it at a local sporting goods store (Dick's) here in the Atlanta area. I have tried it now and was quite surprised at how it does stimulate the saliva glands. I have been monitoring the OCF site for about 8 months and don't recall seeing any reference to this product before.

I have been using the gum from Biotene and it seems hard to find in local stores. It is my experience that Quench is as good if not better than the Biotene product. I have researched if further and it appears the most economical way to purchase Quench is from the Internet with doing a Google search. It comes in a large 300 piece tub as the cheapest per piece means of buying.

Just thought a few of the "Sahara Mouth Club" members would like to know.

Bill D.

I think the issue for me are that the main ingredients ( listed in order of volume as required by the FDA are all sugar (Sugar, Dextrose, Corn Syrup). For those of us without saliva and the protective enzymes in it to prevent tooth decay, this is a serious issue. For an athlete with a normal mouth...perhaps it's a great thing.

That was going to be my next question was does it ahve sugar in it but thanks for answering my question Brian. Thanks for the info Bill, but I'm like Brian, my dentist would probably just go ahead and pull all my teeth w/o any pain relief.
:-) thanks again for searching though :-) Lee

I guess there is a down side to Quench just like most other things in life.

Bill D.

The best gum we've found is XyliMax, which is a xylitol-based gum sold by dentists (and also, on the internet) -- it's made to do two things: 1) reduce residual sugars and food particles in mouth after eating and 2) increase mouth moisture. The goal is to protect teeth and reduce dental caries. The physical chewing action stimulates the salivary glands, of course this would be true for any gum. It comes in several flvors, the fruit is the least strong flavor.

Our dental oncologist is a big fan of XyliMax, as are my dentists (they use it themselves). Barry has found chewing a piece of gum when his mouth feels dry works far better (for him) than using a mouth spray or gel. He also chews it after every meal and when he eats a snack.

Gail

I have heard this about XyliMax before, but having no remaining salivary function like me makes this product (or any other gum) useless, you can't get blood out of a stone. For people like Barry that had protective treatments to save salivary function, and IMRT to reduce radiation exposure to the glands, etc. and who therefore end up with even 25-40% function, this may be a good alternative to stimulate what little is left. But for those of us that got nuked to the max and have essentially dead glands.... it is what it is, and oral lubricants are the only alternative. Here I prefer the Oral Balance products as they contain the salivary enzymes in them that I am now biologically missing. They also by the way use xylitol as both a sweetener and for its plaque reduction properties.

Brian is quite right -- it should be noted that the salivary-stimulating drugs (e.g. Salagen, Evoxac) which are often recommended on this forum, as well as mechanical stimulation such as gum-chewing, depend on there being resdual salivary gland function.

The good news is that improvements in radiation delivery and planning mean that more and more patients are having at least some of their salivary function spared during treatment. Also, the use of amifostine (when it can be tolerated) helps to some extent, but the major gains have been with increasing use of IMRT and helical IMRT (tomoTherapy).

When salivary function is minimal, the Biotene (Oral Balance) products are almost universally considered by physicians and dentists to be superior for the reasons noted -- including restoration of vital salivary enzymes for dental protection.

Gail