Chewing gum is more effective than saline-solution gargling for reducing oral mucositis

Objective

This quasi-experimental study compared the effectiveness of chewing gum and gargling with a saline solution as two types of intervention to reduce oral mucositis scores.

Method

The sample consisted of 44 children who were divided into two groups, one of which chewed gum, and the other gargled with a saline solution. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the data.

Results

There was a significant difference (p = 0.001) in post-intervention oral-mucositis scores. The significant mean difference between the groups indicated that the decreased oral mucositis scores for the chewing gum group was more substantial than for the group gargling with a saline solution (p = 0.001).

Conclusions

The data showed that chewing gum is more effective than gargling with a saline solution, and it can be incorporated into the nursing protocol for treating pediatric cancer patients.