Dentists Recommend Chewing Sugarfree Gum After Eating and Drinking

Over two decades of clinical research shows chewing sugarfree gum after eating and drinking is beneficial to oral health.

Today, the benefits of chewing sugarfree gum, and specifically EXTRA^®, are recognised by the World Dental Federation (www.fdiworldental.org), based on its contribution to good oral healthcare. Locally the Australian Dental Association (http://www.ada.org.au) and New Zealand Dental Association (www.nzda.org.nz) recommend chewing sugarfree gum after eating and drinking to maintain good oral health.

What Happens In the Mouth?

The pH balance of the mouth is crucial for healthy teeth. Plaque is a soft, sticky substance made up of bacteria which forms on everyone’s teeth all the time. When you consume sugary or starchy foods or drinks, the bacteria in plaque produce plaque acids which can damage tooth enamel.

Chewing sugarfree gum like EXTRA has been proven to stimulate saliva by 10 times¹.

Saliva is the body’s most important natural defence, helping to:

• Restore the pH balance in your mouth neutralising acids
• Wash away food particles left in the mouth
• Re-mineralise enamel to strengthen teeth

Stimulated saliva contains more calcium and phosphate making it even more effective at re-mineralising enamel damaged by an acid attack. A greater volume and flow rate of stimulated saliva results in an increased ability to clear the remains of food, sugars and acids from around the teeth.

Emerging research also suggests there may be a relationship between a healthy mouth and overall health.

¹Szoke J, Banoczy J, Proskin HM (2001), Effect of after-meal sucrose-free gum-chewing on clinical caries. Journal of Dental Research 80(8) 1725-29.