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Is Chewing Gum Harmful To Our Health?
Chewing gum is not always harmful and it has its benefits, but when it is chewed for long it can cause harm to our health.
Some of its benefits are:
it may reduce your stress levels, it helps to eliminate bad breath by increasing saliva, prevent dry mouth, help in burning calories, improve your memory, eliminate nausea
However, constant chewing may lead to jaw problems, like TMJ disorder. Also, the sugar content in chewing gum can contribute to tooth decay and even gum disease.
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Choosing sugar-free chewing gum can prevent cavities, according to Dr. Kasem, as long as you don’t keep it in your mouth for an extended period of time.
That’s because biting into a piece causes saliva to be produced, which washes away bacteria that cause cavities and food particles that are still lodged in your teeth.
But, according to Dr. Kasem, this only functions up to a certain point.
According to Dr. Kahn, you shouldn’t chew gum for longer than 15 minutes each day.
The smooth enamel covering on your teeth may start to erode if you continue to chew and pop your gum for extended periods of time, like many hours.
This is called demineralization and makes your gnashers more prone to cavities and decay.
Long-term chewing on gum may exacerbate health issues involving the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), which attach the lower jaw to the skull. These are the joints in front of the ears that move and rotate and regulate chewing, talking, yawning, and swallowing.
Dr. Kasem advised persons with pre-existing conditions to refrain from chewing gum since “chewing gum cannot cause a TMJ problem, but it can aggravate the problem in patients with a TMJ injury”.
The dentist also warns against chewing gum if you have a bone or muscular issue like osteoporosis or arthritis since it may make you feel worse.
Risk Of Chewing Gum
Migraines
According to a recent study, daily chewing of gum was associated with headaches in a sample of teenagers. After giving up chewing gum for a month, 2/3 of the test subjects reported a complete absence of headaches, while roughly 12 of the remaining participants experienced significantly less frequent and more severe headaches. Their headaches returned as soon as they started chewing gum once more.
Increase Chances of TMJ
Gum chewing puts your jaw under a lot of stress, which can cause TMJ. Temporomandibular joint disease, or TMJ, is a painful illness brought on by overusing a few jaw muscles. It may cause headaches, neck discomfort, earaches, and other issues.
Gum chewing can lead to jaw muscle imbalance or TMJ, particularly if you favor one side of your mouth over the other.
Every time you overdo a group of muscles, your ligaments will contract, causing excruciating agony. Additionally, it can cause headaches, toothaches, and earaches.
Tooth Damage
When you chew sugar-containing gum, the sugar coats your teeth as you chew. This may result in plaque accumulation and tooth decay. Even sugar-free gum poses a risk to your teeth due to the presence of artificial flavors and preservatives that can gradually erode them. Chewing gum might cause the neurotoxic to be released into your body if you have mercury fillings.
Stomach Problems
Gum chewing might cause tension in your intestines and stomach. It might make IBS symptoms worse. In order for your body to effectively digest food, your stomach needs time to rest. However, if you chew gum frequently, you swallow a lot of spit.
Tooth Decay
Regularly chewing sugar-coated gum can cause gum disease, cavities, and other oral health issues like tooth decay. When you chew gum, the sugar coats your teeth and progressively erodes the tooth enamel, especially if you don’t brush them right away.
To reduce these effects, use gum products with low to no added sugar.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
IBS is a digestive illness that results in cramping, pain in the abdomen, and irregular bowel movements. You swallow extra air when chewing gum. It may aggravate IBS, which can result in bloating and discomfort in the abdomen.
Additionally, it’s been discovered that gum’s artificial sweeteners, such as Mannitol and Sorbitol, can result in diarrhea.
