Whether or not chewing gum is good or bad for your teeth depends on the category/categories of the gum you chew. Hence, you might have heard that gum is good for your teeth as well as bad for your teeth. Well, let’s dive into this topic to find out more about the effects of chewing gum. Topics on chewing gum cannot be overemphasized, however, it is important to note that gum can basically be classified into three (3) different categories based on how it is sweetened:
- Gum sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame.
- Gum sweetened the old-fashioned way – with sugar.
- Gum sweetened with sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and xylitol.
1. Chewing Gum Sweetened with Artificial Sweeteners
Studies have shown that if you chew gum sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or Sucralose, you will automatically get rid of the first phase of chewing sugary gum, thereby stimulating the flow of saliva in your mouth. This in turn, is a good thing because saliva protects your teeth in numerous ways. It’s important to be educated that when you chew a gum that is void of sugar, it stimulates the flow of saliva in your mouth due to the amazing taste of the gum coupled with the chewing action. Chewing gum after meal helps a great deal because it will help your mouth return to an optimal pH. It also prevents you from having a dry mouth, which in turn prevents you from halitosis or bad breath.
2. Chewing Gum Sweetened with Sugar and Your Teeth
Dating back to the days of old, gums were sweetened with sugar. Today, we still have gums sweetened the old-fashioned way. Looking at this category, you will realise that there are basically two stages when you chew gum sweetened with sugar. The first stage lasts for about 10 minutes or more. In this stage, you are releasing sugar from the chewing gum into your mouth. The bacteria in your plaque love to feed on the sugar found in sugary chewing gum and in turn, hurt your teeth. The sugar in gum sweetened with sugar can possibly stick around in your mouth for a long period of time and continue feeding the bacteria that live on your teeth, causing them to wage a winning war against your teeth.
Welcome to the second phase! This happens after you have shewed your gum and swallowed all the sugar in the chewing gum. The act of chewing enables you to make more spit, so, the chewing gum is usually able to promote re-mineralization of your teeth’s enamel after all of the sugar has left your mouth. This second phase is an advantage though.
3. Chewing Gum Sweetened with Sugar Alcohols
This is the third and, for now, the final category. This type of chewing gum is the gum that is sweetened with sugar alcohols such as xylitol and sorbitol. Xylitol has been proven to help fight against the bacteria that eat away your teeth. Chewing gum that contains xylitol is the best option of chewing gum when it comes to your oral health. When you chew gum that contains xylitol, you get all the benefits of chewing sugar-free gum.
It’s paramount to note that chewing gum helps release saliva which helps to rinse sugar away from your teeth.
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