Freedent, the first non-stick chewing gum, was introduced by the Wrigley Company in 1975. Freedent was developed for those who can’t chew regular gum due to dentures and dental work. As of 2010, Freedent is available in Canada, the U.S., France and New Zealand. Wrigley’s Freedent gum comes in peppermint and spearmint. The ingredients of both flavors are nearly identical; the only difference is the peppermint or spearmint oil used for flavoring.

History

1975: Development for Freedent began after the Wrigley Company received a high volume of letters from consumers who had problems with gum sticking to dental work. As a solution to that problem, the Wrigley Company developed Freedent with a unique gum base that would not adhere to most dental work. In 1975, Freedent was launched in the US and UK. This was the first major new brand Wrigley launched in the US in 53 years.

1990: In 1990, the brand was reformulated to answer consumer requests to give the gum a longer lasting flavor.

2005: The packaging was updated in 2005 to reflect a new logo and more refreshing design.

The ingredients found in Freedent gum are:

• SUGAR
• GUM BASE
• CORN SYRUP
• LESS THAN 2% OF: GLYCEROL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SORBITOL, SOY LECITHIN, ASPARTAME, ACESULFAME K, BHT (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS).
• PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE

Sweeteners

Both peppermint and spearmint flavored Freedent contain natural and artificial sweeteners. Sugar and corn syrup are the natural sweeteners, while acesulfame K, sorbitol and aspartame are the artificial sweeteners found in Freedent.

Acesulfame K is a potassium salt that is often blended with other artificial sweeteners to create a more natural sugar taste. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol derived from glucose, and is commonly found in diet soft drinks. Aspartame is a peptide that is 200 times sweeter than table sugar. In 2007, a medical review concluded aspartame to be “safe at current levels of consumption as a non-nutritive sweetener.” But, due to phenylalanine being a by-product of aspartame’s breakdown, those with phenylketonuria should avoid it.

Gum Base

Gum base is used to give chewing gum its plasticity and consistency, making it chewable. Freedent uses a gluten-free gum base recipe containing glycerol and soy lecithin.

Glycerol is a simple polyol compound that is used to soften and enhance texture in chewing gum. It has a sweet taste but doesn’t raise blood sugar levels. In addition to chewing gum, glycerol is often found in cookies, cough syrup and bath soap. Soy lecithin is a fatty substance derived from soy beans used in chewing gum as an emulsifier.

Preservatives

The preservative used in Freedent chewing gum is BHT, or butylated hydroxytoluene. BHT is a synthetic, phenolic compound added to Freedent to preserve the gum’s softness and elasticity. BHT is an antioxidant; it prevents the oxygen in fats and oils from oxidization, prolonging the shelf-life of the products it’s used in. In addition to chewing gum and other foods, BHT is also used to protect the fats and oils in many cosmetics.

Flavoring

Mint oil is used in both peppermint and spearmint Freedent to achieve their respective tastes. Mint oil is a natural flavoring refined from mint plants through a process called fractionation. Fractionation alters the taste of mint oil, enhancing either its peppermint or spearmint flavor by reducing or eliminating certain components. The Wrigley Company uses 53 square miles of land in order to grow the amount of mint plants needed to flavor all of their chewing gum.

Benefits of chewing gum

More than two decades of research and consumer outreach have driven Wrigley’s leadership in oral care with consumers and within the professional and scientific community. Over the last three years, the Wrigley Science Instituteâ„¢ has conducted research related to the benefits of chewing gum in the areas of:

• weight management
• stress relief
• increased alertness, focus and concentration

Multi-tasking got you feeling a little unfocused? With so many daily distractions, it can be hard to keep your head in the game. It’s no wonder people are seeking simple and convenient ways to increase their focus and concentration. And chewing gum may help.

In fact, people in the know are already using chewing gum to help improve focus, concentration and alertness. Chewing gum may also help with multi-tasking – recent research shows chewing gum results in an improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities while under a laboratory stressor.¹

Since World War I, the U.S. Armed Forces have supplied chewing gum to the field and in combat rations.
These benefits are at the core of Wrigley’s leadership in chewing gum and confections that focus on health and wellness. The Wrigley portfolio offers a wide range of choices including both “better-for-you” sugar-free chewing gum, such as Orbit®, Extra®, Eclipse® and 5â„¢, and “pocket” confections, such as mints and oral care drops, that deliver functional benefits.