Research shows that chewing on gum, more precisely sugarless gum, during 20 minutes after a meal, can help reduce tooth decay. But chewing gum is not a substitute of brushing and flossing.

When you have something in your mouth, your salivary glands are stimulated to produce saliva. One of the roles of saliva is to partially clean your mouth following a meal. Therefore, chewing on sugarless gum can stimulate your mouth’s saliva to be constantly produced. This will remove some of the food debris, and some of the dental plaque that has been created after you have eaten food.

However chewing gum does not replace regular oral hygiene care. Some dental plaque can be consistent and sticks to the teeth. The saliva by itself cannot remove it. It’s only by brushing and flossing thoroughly that you can make sure you have removed the dental plaque from around your teeth in order to prevent tooth decay, gum disease and tartar build-up.

The information above should be used as a reference only. Any medical decision should not be taken before consulting a health care professional.

The masculine gender may have been more used in the article, but without prejudice, to make reading easier.

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