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BEYOND tasting good and freshening breath, chewing gum today increasingly promises dental benefits, like reducing cavities, whitening and even strengthening teeth. Some sugarless brands, including Dentyne, Extra and Orbit, even carry seals of approval from the American Dental Association, for helping to reduce cavities....   >>>

BEYOND tasting good and freshening breath, chewing gum today increasingly promises dental benefits, like reducing cavities, whitening and even strengthening teeth. Some sugarless brands, including Dentyne, Extra and Orbit, even carry seals of approval from the American Dental Association, for helping to reduce cavities.



Now two brands, Stride and Trident, are putting their money into varieties fortified with ingredients like vitamin C and ginseng. The brands, both from Cadbury, a division of Kraft Foods, are taking marketing cues from products like energy drinks and cereal that make claims to bolster alertness or wellness — though some of the gums stop short of promising health benefits.



Each piece of Stride Spark, which began appearing in stores in January, provides 25 percent of the recommended daily allowance of the vitamins B-6 and B-12, which are common in energy drinks like Red Bull. The gum, available in Kinetic Mint and Kinetic Fruit flavors, also creates a tingling in the mouth.



“This is the first ever flavor profile with an oomph you can feel and an oomph you can taste,” said Gary Osifchin, marketing director for both the Stride and Dentyne brands.



Introduced in 2006, Stride is marketed primarily to teenagers and college students, who also like energy-boosting products like Red Bull, so “our target of young adults is very familiar with B vitamins,” Mr. Osifchin said.



**The excerpt is taken from New York Times article, "New Gums with Vitamins, Herbs and Varied Claims," written by Andrew Adam Newman which is linked below. Do click through to read varying reactions to these new chewing gum benefits.**