Could Your Dental Care Regime Benefit from Sugarless Gum?
Sugarless gum makes a great addition to a dental care regime, and a large number of the best dentists believe that it can be beneficial to chew sugarless gum after meals. In fact Wrigley’s Orbit sugar free gum was the first to be accredited by the British Dental Association and has received the American Dental Association’s seal of acceptance, and is just one of many sugar free brands suitable for helping to improve your oral health.
How does it do this?
Chewing sugar free gum helps the mouth by stimulating the flow of saliva. Saliva is one of the most important defense mechanisms in the mouth, as it helps clean the mouth of excess food debris. Saliva also helps neutralize the plaque acids that begin forming as soon as we have eaten something, which would otherwise attack the teeth and gums, softening tooth enamel. Saliva also helps remineralize the tooth enamel, strengthening teeth and helping to reduce the risk of dental diseases such as caries. It is able to do this because saliva contains calcium and phosphate ions that were originally leached out of the teeth by acids. These are partially re-absorbed by the dental enamel, helping to re-harden it.
Saliva helps reduce plaque by making it more difficult for it to stick to the teeth. Although saliva is an important defense mechanism in the mouth, its production usually ceases around 5 minutes after you have finished eating, although ironically this is the time when it is needed most by your teeth. Chewing sugarless gum is a pleasant way to increase the flow of saliva, and studies show that it can increase this flow by up to 10 times the resting state.
If you would like to know more about your oral health, including your personal risk levels, then why not try our free Oral Health Profile. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete, and will give you access to valuable tips and tools, designed to help improve your smile, and to save you money.
