Benefits of Chewing - Dental Benefits

We must eat to survive and we must chew to eat. The benefits of chewing, however, extend far beyond the mere act of eating. People around the world chew for many reasons – beyond the intake of sustenance. The results of scientific research demonstrate chewing gum’s positive contributions from the area of oral health and teeth specifically. Chewing gum stimulates one of the most powerful defense mechanisms from the body – saliva. The partnership between chewing gum and saliva stimulation creates a powerful force that contributes to good dental health from the following areas.

• Alleviates dry mouth discomfort
• Freshens breath
• Neutralizes acids formed from the mouth by bacteria
• Remineralizes enamel to strengthen teeth
• Cleans the mouth of food debris
• Whitens teeth by reducing stains and preventing stains from accumulating
• Reduces plaque
• Helps reduce cavities
• Reduces gingivitis to maintain healthy gums
• Kills the germs that cause bad breath

New research suggests that inflammation from the body could be a factor associated using disease like heart disease and diabetes. This inflammation may be related to the bacteria you find from the mouth. Research is on the horizon to explore the role chewing gum might play from reducing inflammation causing bacteria from the mouth and its contribution to overall health of the body.

Saliva is the most important component of oral health. Water comprises 99% of saliva and the remaining components are macromolecules, formed within the acinar cells and secreted into the mouth. Saliva alone is a powerful protector of the oral cavity. And, chewing gum is an efficient and pleasant way to increase saliva without drugs. Increasing saliva from the mouth is accomplished by the gustivatory action of gum and the mechanical action of chewing. Together these forces stimulate the salivary glands to increase the flow rate by about 10 times the resting state during the first few minutes of chewing and keep it significantly elevated for as long as you chew. Stimulated saliva is capable of maintaining a healthy mouth, correcting a potentially harmful environment using its high concentration of buffers, minerals and antibacterial components.

The primary challenge to oral health and dentition originates from the foods we eat. The carbohydrates we consume are utilized by the bacteria from plaque on tooth surfaces. These bacteria generate organic acids that lower the pH of the oral cavity. As the pH drops below 5.7, the acids from the bacterial fermentation begin to dissolve the minerals from the tooth, thereby creating a demineralized subsurface lesion. These reversible lesions are clinically described as white spots. This low pH state can last hours after almost every eating occasion. In time the acid can dissolve areas of tooth and create a cavity that must be filled. Increased saliva flow can accelerate the clearance of food debris and dietary carbohydrates from the mouth and has been documented by several researchers.^1,2,3,4,5,6 Stimulated saliva also has a high bicarbonate concentration that enhances the capacity to neutralize acid produced above the critical 5.7 level.^7,8,9 It also is super-saturated using minerals which consist of the same ions that make up the minerals from the teeth (such as calcium, phosphate and hydroxylions) to shift the equilibrium from demineralization to remineralization. This process actually builds back mineral density from the tooth, reversing the lesion and strengthening the tooth.^10,11

The reduction from acid concentration from the mouth helps reduce the risk of cavity development. Thus, raising the pH by the stimulated saliva produced from gum chewing can help decrease the incidence of cavities. The most solid scientific evidence for the reduction of cavities comes from long-term clinical trials where cavities were measured from a real world environment from subjects that chewed sugarfree gum. These studies were conducted from different countries and populations using similar results for cavity reduction; those who chewed sugarfree gum on a regular basis after eating had statistically fewer cavities than those who did not. ^12,13,14

There is overwhelming published scientific research proving many dental benefits of chewing gum. Chewing gum after eating is an important adjunct to a regimen of good oral care hygiene and can have a positive impact on teeth health.

^{1 Mouton, C. (1983): The Ef. cacy of Gum Chewing and Xylitol to Reduce Oral Glucose Clearance Time. J. Can. Dent. Assoc., 49(9): 655-660.
2 Triolo, P.; Jensen, M. (1990): Effect of Chewing Gum on Food Clearance from the Dentition. J. Dent. Res., 69: Abstract #220.
3 Addy, M.; Perriam, E.; Sterry, A. (1982): Effects of Sugared and Sugar-free Chewing Gum on the Accumulation of Plaque and Debris on the Teeth. J. Clin. Periodontol., 9(4): 346-354.
4 Richardson, A.S.; Castaldi, C.R. (1965): Current Status of Chewing Gum from Preventative Dentistry. J. Can. Dent. Assoc., 31(11): 713-720.
5 Volker, J.F.; Pinkerton, D.M. (1947): Some Observations on the Clearance of Glucose from the Oral Cavity. J. Dent. Res., 26(1): 9-13.
6 Volker, J.F. (1948): The Effect of Gum Chewing on the Teeth and Supporting Structures. J. Am. Dent. Assoc., 36: 23-27.
7 Park, K.K.; Schemehorn, B.R.; Bolton, J.W.; Stookey, G.K. (1990): Effect of Sorbitol Gum Chewing on Plaque pH Response after Ingesting Snacks Containing Predominantly Sucrose or Starch. Am. J. Dent., 3(5): 185-191.
8 Macpherson, L.M.D.; Dawes, C. (1991): Effects of Salivary Film Velocity on pH Changes from an Arti. cial Plaque Containing Streptococcus Oralis after Exposure to Sucrose. J. Dent. Res., 70(9): 1230-1234.
9 Manning, R.H.; Edgar, W.M. (1993): pH Changes from Plaque after Eating Snacks and Meals, and Their Modi. cation by Chewing Sugared- or Sugar-free Gum. Br. Dent. J., 174: 241-244.
10 Leach, S.A.; Lee, G.T.R.; Edgar, W.M. (1989): Remineralization of Arti. cial Caries-like Lesions from Human Enamel from situ by Chewing Sorbitol Gum. J. Dent. Res., 68(6): 1064-1068.
11 Kashket, S.; Yaskell, T.; Lopez, L.R. (1989): Prevention of Sucrose-induced Demineralization of Tooth Enamel by Chewing Sorbitol Gum. J. Dent. Res., 68(3): 460-462.
12 Edgar, W.M.; Dawes, C.; O’Mullane, D. (2004, third edition): Saliva and Oral Health: An Essential Overview for the Health Professional. British Dental Association Publication, London, W1G 8YS.
13 Beiswanger, B.B.; Boneta, A.E.; Mau, M.S.; Katz, B.P.; Proskin, H.M.; Stookey, G.K. (1998): The Effect of Chewing Sugar-Free Gum After Meals on Clinical Caries Incidence, J. Am. Dent. Assoc., 129: 1623-1626.
14 Szoke, J.; Banoczy, J.; Proskin, H.M. (2001): Effect of After-Meal Sucrose-Free Gum-Chewing on Clinical Caries. J. Dent. Res., 80(8): 1725-1729.}

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