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Benefit or harm: how sugar-free gum affects health
Debunking the five most popular chewing gum myths.
The first chewing gum appeared in the XNUMXth century, and then it was believed that this remedy would save from tooth decay. Since then, dentists have conducted a huge amount of research to find out if chewing gum is harmful to tooth enamel, whether it causes tooth decay or not. We will understand this together with you.
Reduces the risk of tooth decay
Once in the mouth, food stimulates the development of microorganisms. In the process of vital activity of these organisms, acid is released, which slowly dissolves tooth enamel and hard tooth tissue. As a result, a hole or cavity is formed in the tooth – caries occurs. Most bacteria can be flushed off naturally with saliva.
What does sugar-free gum do? It stimulates increased salivation and thus helps to cleanse the oral cavity. Sugar substitutes that are included in its composition (sorbitol, xylitol and others) do not provoke the growth of bacteria, but, on the contrary, reduce their number. This is confirmed by numerous clinical studies. So, Hungarian scientists for two years observed 550 schoolchildren – those who regularly used gum had almost 40% less caries, and scientists from the Netherlands published an article stating that chewing sugar-free gum for 10 minutes after food helps to kill about 100 million harmful bacteria in the mouth. The American Dental Association also recommends chewing gum after meals for 20 minutes.
Strengthens tooth enamel and reduces sensitivity
Tooth enamel is very sensitive to what we eat. Citrus fruits, fruit juices, and sugary soda contain a lot of acid and sugar. The acid disrupts the alkaline environment in the mouth and eats away at the enamel, washing out the minerals that make up it. If you notice that the enamel on your teeth has become sensitive, this is the first sign that it is lacking in minerals – in particular, calcium and phosphate. Saliva helps restore the mineral balance: on average, this process takes an hour, and the consumption of chewing gum speeds up the production of saliva. Research shows that sugar-free gum can also help treat tooth sensitivity after professional whitening.
Contributes to the normalization of weight
If you follow a low-calorie diet or follow the principles of a healthy diet, sugar-free gum is your faithful friend and helper, because its energy value is only 4 kcal for two pads, while one small caramel contains 25-40 kcal. Plus, chewing gum can break the sharp cravings for sweets. This is a fact confirmed by scientific experiments. Several years ago, scientists in the UK came to the conclusion that chewing gum suppresses appetite and reduces the need for snacks between meals.
Chewing gum is not a substitute for professional optical whitening: it is not able to change the color of the tooth enamel by several tones and make them snow-white. But on the other hand, she is quite capable of fighting the manifestations of plaque and tartar. The special ingredients in the sugar-free gum help dissolve stains from tea, black coffee, red wine and other foods.
In 2017, American scientists observed two groups of volunteers for two weeks. Both groups often drank freshly brewed black tea, but some of the subjects then chewed sugar-free gum for 12 minutes, while the other did not. It turned out that the number of new stains on the teeth in the participants of the first group at the end of the experiment was 43% lower than in the second.
Helps to save money on dental services
Chewing gum not only protects your teeth, but also your wallet from unnecessary treatment costs. The World Health Organization estimates that 60-90% of school-age children and almost 100% of adults have tooth decay. The use of sugar-free gum, along with the use of a toothbrush and floss, is part of the complex to prevent dental diseases. It is recommended by leading healthcare organizations such as the American Dental Association and the British Dental Association.
In 2017, economists calculated that if everyone in Europe increased their consumption of sugar-free gum by at least one pillow per day, it would save about € 920 million annually in dentist services. Unfortunately, no such study has been conducted in Russia. However, the question is no less acute: on average, every adult Russian has six diseased teeth. To avoid problems, dentists recommend brushing your teeth for two minutes in the morning and evening, using sugar-free gum after every meal, and getting regular check-ups with your dentist.
In fact, everything is very simple: there are basic ways to care for your teeth during the day – this is either rinsing the mouth, or an apple (due to its hardness when biting off, plaque leaves the surface of the teeth), or chewing gum without sugar, which is the same as apple, mechanically removes plaque.
Of course, chewing gum will not be able to further strengthen the teeth, since it does not strengthen, but mechanically cleans them from plaque, helping us to fight caries. And if it cleans from plaque, it means that it protects the teeth! Human teeth are destroyed as a result of the adverse effects of microorganisms that live in this plaque. What is plaque? It is a favorable breeding ground for a large number of bacteria. The main bacterium that causes tooth decay, Streptococcus mutans, absorbs plaque and releases lactic acid, which eats away at our tooth enamel and leads to dental inflammation. Therefore, in order to protect the oral cavity from all kinds of diseases, it is necessary to chew gum after eating.
It is not uncommon for chewing gum to cause fillings to fall out. But this can be avoided by chewing it for only 1-2 minutes.
It can also adversely affect the health of the stomach: in the process of chewing, saliva and gastric juice are actively produced, which begins to corrode the walls. That is why it is better not to chew it on an empty stomach, but to do it immediately after eating.