While brushing for two minutes, twice daily, and flossing regularly is still the best defense in the fight against tooth decay - you may find it surprising that one "bad habit" is also good for your teeth.
While chewing gum helps freshen breath - choosing a sugar-free gum actually yields some major tooth benefits!
1. Prevents Cavities. Did you know that clinical studies have shown that chewing sugarless gum for 20 minutes after eating can help prevent tooth decay? That’s because chewing gum increases the amount of saliva in your mouth. Saliva not only helps wash away food and debris caught between teeth, but it also helps to neutralize plaque acid.
2. Strengthens Tooth Enamel. Saliva also contains additional calcium and phosphate which helps to strengthen tooth enamel! And if you choose a sugarless gum sweetened with xylitol - an all natural sweetener derived from the fibrous parts of plants - you’ll keep your mouth a more neutral pH, which keeps tooth enamel healthy.
3. Reduces Dry Mouth. While more common in adults, dry mouth does affect men and women of all ages. And even though there are a variety of treatments for this problem, the goal in all is almost always to increase salivary flow. One of the simplest ways to do this - as you may guess from above, is to chew sugar-free gum. Chewing sugar-free gum causes your mouth to increase the production of saliva by 10 times the normal rate!
Next time you purchase sugar-free gum from the store, look for those with the ADA seal on the package to guarantee it’s sugarless.
For more tips on how to keep teeth healthy - give us a call! At Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental our purpose is to provide exceptional mental and dental care that can impact your child’s life forever. Our practice has been providing excellent pediatric dentistry to children of Long Island for over 14 years. We have three locations: Nesconset, Massapequa Park, and West Islip.
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