“Is excessive gum chewing harmful in any way?”
I chew gum throughout the day, and have been doing so for years. Is this harmful to my teeth in any way?
14 Answers
Only sugarless gum
Gum chewing can pull out fillings. It can make your jaws sore. If you have gum disease chewing gum can release more gum disease bacteria and their toxins into your bloodstream.
Chewing gum all day puts too much pressure on your TMJ, plus the effect on your stomach acid production. It's better to cut it down.
As long as the gum is sugarless, and I'm careful to say overdoing any habit is a negative, but the only thing I can think of is that it may produce soreness of the jaw muscles from over activity as the grinding effect may cause some discomfort depending on the length of time.
Chewing gum is bad for your jaw joints and can lead to TMJ issues. It doesn't affect the teeth unless is contains sugar. Chewing sugar-free gum in moderation can be beneficial for the teeth.
Adel Rossouw
Dentist
Chewing gum as such is not harmful to your teeth, but the joint of your lower jaw (temporo-mandibular joint) is not made to work the whole day. The cartilage in the joint gets damaged and it can be very difficult to treat if it starts to dislocate and gets painful.
Gum chewing is beneficial shortly after eating to stimulate saliva flow and natural teeth cleaning. Excessive or constant chewing is not good for your facial muscles.
The most harmful effect of gum chewing is overuse of musculature that can lead to soreness and the sugar in the gum which can lead to cavities. Over use of joints can lead to popping and clicking of the joints as well.
Excessive gum chewing is not harmful unless it contains sugar. If it does contain sugar then the sugar can cause cavities. The gum itself actually exercises your gums and helps prevent gum disease.
Yes. It is harmful to the teeth especially if there is sugar in it which can lead to sensitivity. Chewing gum is also harmful to the stomach stimulating saliva production constantly.
No it is not.
It depends on what kind of gum. I always advise a sugar free xylitol flavored gum like Ice Cubes. Chewing xylitol flavored gum can actually be beneficial as it is anti cavity and stimulates saliva flow which can prove a buffer to acids produced by bacteria found in the mouth.
It could possibly contribute to increased chances of TMJ soreness or pain in surrounding muscles. Otherwise, as long as it is sugarless or you don’t keep adding new pieces of gum with sugar, it shouldn’t be a problem for the teeth.
It certainly can be if you use regular sweetened gum (refined carbohydrates), sugar-free gum helps increase salivary production without lowering the oral pH (acidity). Increased saliva helps re-mineralize enamel and therefore decreases cavities from developing. If you clench or grind your teeth, chewing gum can aggravate the Tempro-Mandibular Disorders.
