Does Happydent Gum Contain Excess Sugar?

Chewing gum is a popular item throughout the world. Occasionally, there have been discussions about various chewing gum brands, their health, etc.

Social Media Posts 

A viral video circulating on social media claims that Happydent Chewing Gum, known for its catchy slogan “Dikha Battisi Kar Baat Acchi Si”, is harmful to health due to its high sugar content. The video shows a self-styled experiment using potassium nitrate to “reveal” the sugar inside the gum, resulting in a black, carbon-rich residue.

The creator concludes that Happydent contains “a huge amount of sugar”, suggesting it damages health rather than improves smiles, and urges viewers to stop trusting “misleading food giants.”

The experiment they do in the video is heating the happy dent chewing gun in a test tube with Potassium Nitrate, an oxidising agent. It depicts the fierce reaction of the sugar of chewing gum turning into Carbon, and then it becomes black with further heating. The posts further say the slogan for the Company is “Dikha Battisi Kar Baat Acchi Si”(So me your face and say something good) and it should be “Health ko Takkar, Full on Shakkar”(A blow to health: full of sugar). We decided to do a fact check on this. 

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Explanation

The Happydent brand belongs to the multinational company Perfetti Van Melle. Perfetti Van Melle is an Italian–Dutch multinational confectionery and gum company. It was formed in 2001 from the merger of the Italian-based company Perfetti and the Dutch-based company Van Melle NV. Perfetti Van Melle is owned by the Italian Perfetti family and the Dutch Van Melle family and is also headquartered in Lainate, Italy, and Breda, Netherlands. More details can be found here. 

Does Happydent Chewing Gum contain an unusually high amount of sugar?

As per the company website, four main types of Happydent gums are available.

Happygent Wave: A coated liquid-filled gum with a burst of flavour.

Happydent Complete: A coated sugar-free functional gum that helps reduce the risk of tooth decay.

Happydent White: A coated functional gum (proprietary ayurvedic medicine) for sparkling smiles

Happydent White Xylit: A coated sugar-free functional gum (proprietary ayurvedic medicine) that contains ‘Xylitol’ and ayurvedic active ingredients.  Details can be found here on the Happydent website.

According to the company’s above information, Happydent Complete and Happydent White Xylite are sugar-free chewing gums. Then, we checked the other two types and their ingredients.

Happydent Wave includes sugar, which is a bit larger, 65.9 grams per 100 grams. More details can be read here.

Happydent white does not have sugar, and details about it can be read here. 

Here’s breakdown table of sugar content in different types of Happydent chewing gum.

Product Name	Sugar Content	Type	Notes
Happydent Wave	65.9g per 100g	Sugar Chewing Gum	High sugar content; typical of sweetened gums
Happydent Complete	0g (Sugar-Free)	Functional Sugar-Free Gum	Designed to reduce tooth decay
Happydent White	0g (Sugar-Free)	Ayurvedic Functional Gum	Marketed for oral freshness and sparkling smiles
Happydent White Xylit	0g (Sugar-Free)	Sugar-Free with Xylitol	Includes xylitol and ayurvedic ingredients; tooth-friendly

Notes:

• Sugar-Free gums: Use sweeteners like xylitol, sorbitol, or mannitol, which do not cause cavities.
• Sugar gums: Typically have 60–80g of sugar per 100g, so Happydent Wave is within the standard range.

As per the above details, it`s clear that some types of Happydent chewing gum have high levels of sugar; however, some types of Happydent don’t have sugar.

Research reviews on chewing gum show four types of chewing gum. 

Chewing gums are mainly classified into four groups: (i) sugar chewing gum, (ii) sugar-free chewing gum, (iii) coated chewing gum and (iv) medicated chewing gum.

Sugar chewing gums contain almost 80% sugar and glucose syrup mixed with gum base. The main difference between sugar and sugar-free chewing gum is the substitution of different sugar alcohols and high-intensity sweeteners. More details can be read here in this research review. 

It`s a general fact that sugar chewing gum usually contains sugar, accounting for around 80% of its weight. So, it`s clear that Happydent chewing gum doesn’t have an unusual amount of sugar as an ingredient. It’s a sugar chewing gum type, and it`s not a unique or extraordinary factor for Happydent Chewing gum.

Happydent has various types of chewing gum, as we discussed previously. Their sugar chewing gum type has 65.9% of sugar, and as per research findings, it`s not unusual and it`s common to almost all sugar chewing gum types. 

Examples of various other sugar chewing gum brands which has higher level of sugar percentage can be reached here, here and here. 

Is using potassium nitrate in such experiments scientifically valid for proving sugar content?

Sugar chewing gum usually contains more than 60% sugar. When such chewing gum is heated, it causes a combustion reaction and oxidation. Below is how sugar reacts with Potassium Nitrate.

While having a conversation with Prof. Renuka Silva from the department of applied nutrition at
Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, he clearly mentions that using potassium nitrate in experiments is not a scientifically valid method for proving sugar content, particularly when combined with food material (It not purely sugar, other organic materials also present). Potassium nitrate (KNO3) acts as an oxidizer, and can create a combustion reaction that can be burn all the organic matter (not only sugar) in the sample and convert into carbon (ash). More details about those reactions can be found here. 

Further he emphasizes there are numerous standard methods to check the sugar content in a food and simply we can check the glucose or sugar concentration by using a refractometer.

Therefore, when we consider the experiment done in the viral reel, it`s noteworthy that it`s difficult to determine sugar percentage, etc. in that way.

Is the carbon residue shown in the video actually a reliable indicator of high sugar levels?

Yes, it can be considered a reliable indicator of higher Carbon levels. When all other Carbon is oxidized into Carbon Dioxide, this remains as Carbon due to the lack of other reactors. It means that it has a higher sugar level.

Did Happydent mislead consumers about its health impact through its marketing?

No, because on their website and in their food labels, they also include whether each chewing gum type has sugar, and if it does, they mention the weight of the sugar in the ingredient list. 

Is chewing sugar-containing gum inherently harmful to health, or are there safe usage limits?

Chewing gum is usually considered safe. However, there are general concerns. Some studies discovered that chewing gum is healthy to consume and has some health benefits, like coping with stress and improving memory. A good review about the health benefits and downfalls connected to chewing gum can be read here on the Healthline website. 

When we consider sugar-containing chewing gum, there are clear health-related issues. So far, the American Dental Association (ADA) awards its seal only to sugar-free chewing gums and does not consider sugary chewing gum when awarding its recognition seal. More details can be read on the ADA website here.

Sugar-free chewing gums are sweetened with non-cavity-causing sweeteners such as aspartame, sorbitol, xylitol, or mannitol. Chewing sugar-free gum has been shown to increase the flow of saliva, thereby reducing plaque acid, strengthening the teeth, and reducing tooth decay.

Conclusion 

In our investigation, we discovered that while it is not a valid method to find sugar concentration using the Potassium Nitrate oxidizing method, particularly in a general experiment like this in a viral video. Happydent chewing gums have various categories. One such category is sugary chewing gum. They also have sugar-free chewing gum. Sugary chewing gums have around 65% sugar. However, it`s not unique to Happydent, and it`s common for all sugary chewing gums. So, the viral reel, which says that all Happydent chewing gums are unhealthy to consume, is misleading. There are sugary chewing gums in many brands, similar to this situation.