Activated carbon: black chewing gum - all important information

Black chewing gum with activated carbon is a new trend that promises whiter teeth. We have summarized what you should know about this here.

Black chewing gum with activated carbon for whiter teeth - is that possible?

Under the promising name "Black is White", Curaprox offers black chewing gum with activated carbon as an ingredient.

• The chewing gum was invented by the Swiss company Curaden. In 2015 the company launched an activated carbon toothpaste called "Black is White".
• The company now also offers dental care chewing gum with activated carbon under this name.
• The chewing gum with a citrusy-minty taste contains not only activated carbon, but also hydroxyapatite, glucose oxidase and xylitol.

This is how activated carbon works in dental care

Activated carbon has always been used in medicine to treat diarrhea, but especially poisoning.

• The agent is effective due to the very rough and large surface of the powder. These properties enable the activated carbon to bind germs effectively.
• The activated carbon chewing gum is said to make bacteria in the mouth harmless, which can attack the teeth. However, activated carbon does not differentiate between good and bad. As a result, the helpful bacteria in the oral cavity can no longer do their job properly.
• Activated carbon is said to provide whiter teeth - even when chewing the gum. However, the rough surface of the activated carbon looks like emery paper and therefore attacks the protective tooth enamel.
• An actually brightening effect of activated carbon in dental care has not been scientifically proven.
• Black chewing gum is therefore no more than a trend that simply picks up something new on the market and, if consumed frequently, can even be harmful.
• The trend is not exactly favorable either. You pay around 7.50 euros for just 17 grams of the small chewing gum.

In our next post, we'll look at beer yoga and explain what's behind this trend.