A Key to Oral Health Success: Chewing Gum

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It is essential to use adequate oral health care techniques to keep your smile safe from harboring cavities and plaque buildup in your mouth. You can help accomplish this by chewing gum after meals to promote saliva formation. To help you understand more about why chewing gum is effective, our team is happy to give you some insight to help you keep your teeth and gums safe.

What are the advantages of chewing gum? The answer lies in the fact that it produces saliva. Saliva is a naturally occurring substance in your mouth that is beneficial for preventing dental erosion and cavities from arising. By chewing sugarless gum after meals, you can help keep your smile safe from harmful acids and food debris that can potentially build up.

If you wish to improve your oral health with chewing gum, it can be used to help prevent and treat heartburn. Heartburn arises due to stomach acids traveling up your esophagus and into your mouth. Once these acids reach your mouth, enamel erosion can occur. However, saliva flow produced by chewing gum can help negate these effects.

Optimum oral health care requires numerous treatments to keep your smile safe. Although chewing sugarless gum can be beneficial after eating, by no means should it be used as a complete replacement for brushing and flossing. However, brushing your teeth after eating can be detrimental to your oral health because your teeth may be overly sensitive at this time. Instead, chewing gum should be used instead.

Your first step to the perfect smile you’ve always wanted begins with advanced oral health care treatments. To learn more about which advanced oral health care treatments can enhance and improve your oral health, contact Cowles Dental Care at 503-255-1506. Please schedule an appointment with Dr. Lee J. Cowles, DMD and our team at our dentist office in Portland, Oregon. We are always happy to have you come by for a visit.