Families encouraged to try the Chew O’clock Challenge
A new study from Wrigley has prompted the company to launch a campaign encouraging families to take up chewing sugar-free gum after school. The research, which surveyed 1000 British women with children aged between 12 and 14, showed that parents across the UK are severely underestimating the potential damage to teeth when children snack after school.
According to the survey, 23% of mothers are unaware of the impact snacking after school can have on oral health, or have simply never considered it, while more than two thirds did not realise that 4pm has been shown to be a key snacking time for children. As far as dental routines are concerned, mums noted that the average 12-14 year old spends just one minute and one second brushing their teeth at a time, half the recommended time by dentists. Furthermore, half of all mothers find they ‘hit a brick wall’ when trying to encourage their kids to brush more regularly.
This is where Wrigley hopes to step in. Only 45% of mothers know that chewing sugar-free gum is a quick and easy way to protect children’s teeth and keep them in good condition, particularly important after consuming an after-school snack or eating something on the go. Nigel Carter OBE, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, says that after-school snacks are an ‘increasingly common part of a child’s everyday routine’, and that this is having a serious effect on oral health. Snacks can be just as damaging to oral health as main meals, and while the best way to maintain healthy teeth is to continue brushing twice a day for two minutes at a time, chewing sugar-free gum is another great way of helping, as it can effectively break down food left behind, neutralise harmful plaque acids, and reduce the risk of decay.
The Chew O’clock Challenge from Wrigley encourages families to chew sugar-free gum together at 4pm each day, a key time for after-school snacking and when the teeth are at risk of lingering food. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singer-songwriter and model, is leading the campaign, and as a mother of three, knows all too well the importance of getting children to keep their teeth healthy. As with many other mothers though, she too was unaware of the dental health risks that can come from snacking during the day, and of how sugar-free gum can help. Since getting involved with the challenge, explains Ellis-Bextor, she has seen first-hand how effective chewing sugar-free gum can be in reducing the impact of after-school snacking, particularly ‘in between brushing times or when heading home from the after school pick-up’.
