Brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing at least once, in addition to visiting your dentist on a regular basis, is essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. But researchers have discovered recently that there may be another way to help prevent cavities, and it’s a simple everyday habit that many of us enjoy: chewing sugarless gum!
There are countless personal habits that are bad for our teeth – from smoking to chewing ice to drinking too much soda – so what a pleasant surprise to find one habit that’s actually good for our oral health! The American Dental Association has found that chewing sugarless gum works to increase the flow of saliva in the mouth, and that helps to rinse away leftover food particles and harmful bacteria that can cause cavities. And it doesn’t even take that long to do some good. Researchers believe that chewing gum for even 20 minutes a day can make a difference.
Increasing the saliva inside your mouth provides more benefits than simply washing away bacteria and food particles. Saliva contains phosphates, fluoride and calcium, all of which help to strengthen the enamel layer of your teeth. Saliva also helps to neutralize acids inside your mouth, which also strengthens enamel. If you don’t have enough saliva flowing inside your mouth, you have a much higher risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease, not to mention other oral health issues. Because chewing gum stimulates the production of saliva, it can be a great habit for healthy teeth and gums.
Of course, it has to be sugarless gum. The sugar contained in regular gum will have the opposite effect of feeding unhealthy bacteria and promoting tooth decay. Fortunately, there are a variety of sugarless gum products to choose from.
So the next time you’d like to indulge in a habit, why not make it one that you’ll actually benefit from? Chewing a stick of sugarless gum not only helps promote good oral health, it also helps to keep you away from eating too many snacks. And some recent research suggests that chewing gum can actually increase your brain activity and improve your memory! Naturally, in order to get all the oral health benefits from gum chewing, you’ll still need to maintain a regular oral hygiene routine at home and visit your dentist at least twice a year for professional cleanings and exams. Still, it’s nice to know that there’s one daily habit that we can all indulge in without the guilt!
