Survey: Chewing Gum Good For Oral Health

Chewing gum is beneficial for our overall oral health, according to a new survey that has found just one piece can trap up to 100 million bacteria, which means it is just as effective as flossing your teeth – although your choice of Manchester city centre emergency dentist will advise you not to stop flossing altogether.

Conducted by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and published in the PLOS ONE journal, the researchers found however that the optimum amount of time spent chewing in order to trap bacteria was under a minute.

And in fact, the longer the piece of gum was chewed, the more types of bacteria were found trapped – but less of it, suggesting that the bacteria is later released back into the mouth.

In addition, chewing gum doesn’t always remove bacteria from other parts of the mouth, such as the tongue, so it would be advisable not to replace your tooth-brushing and flossing regime with gum chewing at this time.

“Despite an increasing diversity in species developing over time in chewed gums, there is a gradual decrease in the number of bacteria trapped in chewed gum over time,” the report stated.

Flossing is one of the best ways to really get rid of excess bacteria in your mouth, as it tackles those hard to reach places that your brush can’t sort out. There are lots of products available, but some of the best include dental sticks for optimum interdental cleaning, which come in different sizes to get between your teeth and down into the gums.