At one point in time during childhood, we’ve all been told by adults to stop chewing gum because of the potential damage to our growing teeth. Well, most of it fell on deaf ears or else chewing gums would be off the market today. Well I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to stop chewing gum. I’ll also like to tell you the adults are right. Quite contradictory statements here, are they not? Well, you need to stop chewing ‘that’ kind of gum that bombards you mouth with sugar, sugar and sugar. There’s a different kind of sugar free gum that is actually beneficial to oral health. Sugar free doesn’t mean bitter, mind you. What’s the problem with sugary gums?
It’s just exactly the way you’ve been told. They can wreak some havoc on the teeth. Well, sugar doesn’t exactly attack the teeth directly. The mouth is full of hundreds of bacteria, many of which are beneficial to the oral ecosystem. Normally, they cause no harm. But when we take so much sugar, some bacteria may feed on the sugar and in the process create acids that destroy the tooth enamel, which is the shiny, protective outer layer of the tooth. This process leads to the development of cavities, literally holes in the teeth. Without treatment, cavities can progress past the enamel and into the deeper layers of the tooth, causing pain and possible tooth loss. Now, nobody wants that even if they chew a hundred gum every day. The good news is that there’s a way to chew a hundred gum everyday with no fear of cavities. What are sugar free gums?
Chewing gum without sugar makes a sugar free chewing gum. Chewing gums are made of a number of components, with sugars being the sweetening component in most gums. Instead of sugar, sugar-free gums use sugar alcohols like xylitol or artificial sweeteners like aspartame. This means they’re sweet chewing gums without sugar! However, that’s just a tip of the iceberg of oral health advantages. Being without sugar, they don’t feed any harmful bacteria. Moreover, they stimulate salivation just like sugary chewing gums. Since they don’t contain any sugar, the saliva so produced works against dental erosion which is usually caused by the acids in the foods and drinks we take. By helping us make more saliva, chewing sugar-free gum can also help to reduce this type of acid attack. By also helping us make more saliva, a bad breath and dry mouth is often prevented. The sweetener used in sugar free gum may even have a direct effect on the teeth. Studies have shown that xylitol can help reduce tooth decay and even help reverse the decay itself by helping to replace the minerals in tooth enamel.
The best time to chew sugar free gum is after eating or drinking and it can be chewed as many times as you eat or drink.
Reference: dentalhealth.org
