Chewing gum is such a simple everyday task that we don’t think much about it. We tend to just pop the gum into our mouths and carry on with our day, but if you aren’t careful and you could be chewing the wrong type of gum and hurting your oral health.
In this blog, learn more about how chewing the wrong type of gum could be harming your oral health and discover what you can do to prevent these problems from occurring.
There are two types of chewing gum: sugar-free gum and traditional sugar-filled gum. Both of these types of gum look similar and come in similar packaging, but only one is good for your oral health.
Chewing a traditional, sugar-filled gum you could cause a number of dental problems ranging from cavities to gum disease and tooth damage. However, chewing sugar-free gum could actually be improving your oral health.
When choosing the type of gum you chew, you want to look for the following things:
If you are unsure if a certain type of gum is sugar-free or not, it is better to choose not to chew it.
Chewing gum with sugar puts you at an increased risk for developing cavities, severe tooth decay, gingivitis, and gum disease. Your risk for developing these oral health problems increases because harmful bacteria, which are present in the mouth, feeds off the sugar used to sweeten your gum.
The harmful bacteria, if left for prolonged periods of time in the mouth, can cause your gums to become inflamed, swollen and red, and infections to develop around the teeth and gums. By chewing sugar-free gum, you can dramatically reduce your risk of developing these types of oral health problems.
While chewing sugar-sweetened gum may be harmful to your oral health, chewing sugar-free gum can have the opposite effect. It can actually help you improve your oral health by:
Even though there are benefits to chewing sugar-free gum, it is still important that you develop good oral hygiene habits. By chewing sugar-free gum and practicing good oral hygiene you can reduce your risk of developing serious dental problems.
Good oral hygiene habits you should be practicing include:
Have additional questions or concerns about how chewing gum can affect your oral health? Feel free to ask Dr. Langley during your next appointment. Dr. Langley will be able to answer any questions you have about chewing gum and how it helps or hurts your oral health. She can also help you create an oral hygiene routine that will keep your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy.
Call the office at Langley Dental Care to schedule an appointment. We look forward to helping you improve your oral health!