Chewing Gum is not just a candy like most people think. It is potent to clean and protect our teeth. In general, a chewing gum is a combination of gum, resin, filler, sweeteners, softeners, flavorings and certain antioxidants.
Unlike sugary bubble gums that contain sugars as sweeteners, sugar-free chewing gums, Xylitol chewing gums are potent to clean and protect our teeth. Is it surprising?
Scroll down the page to know the oral health benefits of chewing gums.
1. Induce the immune system to combat oral infections
Researches show that chewing helps our immune system to produce more Th17 cells, The Th17 cells take care of incorporating macrophages and neutrophils to the infected tissues and empower them to fight against infections. They are more essential to stand against oral infections.
2. Increase the salivary flow
Salivary flow is mandatory to keep our teeth clean and eliminate the germs and bacteria in our mouth. Drinking a plenty of water helps us to produce more saliva. This is the reason why Dental Health Professionals advice to consume more water.
Chewing gums are also efficient to salivate our mouth. When you chew the gums, your muscles compress the salivary glands which release more saliva.
3. Reduce Bad breath
Halitosis – Bad breath in general, is a common dental issue which is experienced by most people at times. Certain foodstuffs, beverages stimulate unpleasant odor from our mouth.
If you have a chewing gum after consuming such foodstuffs, the flavoring agents present in the gum minimize the bad breath for a while.
Similarly, certain medications and drugs are powerful to absorb the saliva and make your mouth dry. It causes a lack of saliva in your mouth and leads to dry mouth as well as bad breath.
As we discussed in the earlier section, chewing gums helps one to produce to more saliva and make his/her mouth moist. It helps us to get rid of bad breath.
4. Prevent Tooth Decay
Our teeth are at risk of acid attacks after we consume food and certain drinks. This is because of the acidic substances present in the food items. Plaque and oral bacteria take advantage of it to weaken the teeth enamel and cause dental erosion.
Increase in saliva reduces the acidity level by balancing the pH level in our mouth. Besides this, it helps in enamel remineralization process by feeding the teeth enamel with nutrients and other minerals. This helps the teeth to regain its strength and fight against cavities.
Hence it is better to chew a sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after every meal.
5. Teeth Whitening
Food items like red sauces, dark-colored fruits left the stains on the teeth surfaces. It causes tooth discoloration. Then teeth whitening treatments are required to restore the natural teeth color.
Nowadays, we can get whitening chewing gums in the market. Chewing such gums for a few minutes after meals will help you to clean the stains and discoloring particles stick to the teeth.
Conclusion
If you have infections like TMJ that is associated with the jaw muscles, you should not prefer chewing gums as it will lead to further damage in the jaw muscles.
Sugarless chewing gums alone help you to get the above mentioned benefits. If you take sugary gums, the sugar and sweeteners present in the gums add value to the dental infections instead of dental preservation.
