If you ask several people whether chewing gum is good or bad for your health, you will probably get several different answers. To answer this important question, we need to consider several different aspects of how chewing gum affects both your mouth and your body as a whole.
Here is a brief summary of the effects of chewing gum:
-Most chewing gum contains artificial sweeteners, regardless of whether it contains sugar or not. Artificial sweeteners can have a negative effect, but especially chewing gums containing xylitol have anti-caries properties.
-According to an academic study on eating habits, people who chew gum are less likely to eat healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables and more likely to consume harmful foods such as potato chips and sweets.
-Chewing gum can also lead to tooth decay and erosion, especially when it is sweetened with sugar. When you chew sugar-sweetened gum, you are bathing your teeth and gums in a sugar bath for as long as you chew.
Sugar-free and artificially sweetened chewing gums provide mechanical cleaning of the teeth.
-Chewing gum increases the flow of saliva and helps to repair tooth enamel and decayed surfaces.
In the United States, 59 per cent of the population regularly uses chewing gum. In Iran, the figure is 82 per cent, and in Saudi Arabia, 79 per cent. The reason for the higher rates in the Middle East is the existence of a cultural tradition in which small traders routinely distribute chewing gum in lieu of small discounts.
It follows that chewing gum can have positive as well as negative effects. Therefore, chewing gum should be done once or twice a day for no more than 5-10 minutes and should not be overdone.