Dental chewing gum
Dental care chewing gum causes saliva to flow through the chewing movement , which neutralizes acids that are harmful to teeth and promotes remineralization . They are often used when it is not possible to brush your teeth . Dental care chewing gum is usually sugar-free and, like toothpaste , contains traces of minerals that support the permanent regeneration of teeth.
Application and effect
When food is ingested, the digestive enzymes in the saliva begin to break down nutrients in the mouth. Low-molecular carbohydrates , such as those found in bread, are broken down into simple sugars.
As soon as these simple sugars are available to the plaque bacteria in the mouth , they increase their metabolic activity and produce lactic acid . This acid dissolves minerals from tooth enamel and is also the main cause of bad breath . The sugar itself does not take part in the formation of caries .
Dental care chewing gum counteracts this by continuing to produce saliva even after the actual meal has ended. Since saliva is slightly alkaline , it can neutralize lactic acid. Because this type of chewing gum is sugar-free, the plaque bacteria are not supplied with any further nutrients during this rinse and they hardly produce any more lactic acid.
The caries-reducing effect occurs after about twelve minutes of chewing gum. It is crucial that no further nutrients are introduced to the plaque bacteria during these twelve minutes. This means that even longer indulgence - even chewing gum containing sugar - can have the same dental care effect because the sugar it contains is dissolved out after two to three minutes.
In addition to the most important effect of acid binding, the stimulated flow of saliva is the second contribution that dental care chewing gum makes to dental health. In addition to enzymes, saliva also contains rich minerals that are essential for building and maintaining teeth. It continuously remineralises the enamel. Minerals contained in the chewing gum support this process. Without saliva, human teeth would completely erode within a few weeks .
The third and weakest effect is the mechanical cleaning of the teeth. By consuming dental care chewing gum, a mechanical cleaning effect is only achieved on the chewing surfaces. This does not remove plaque bacteria in other parts of the mouth. This can only be achieved efficiently through regular use of a toothbrush and floss . Dental care chewing gum can therefore only be viewed as an additional contribution to dental health, but not as a substitute for brushing your teeth .
A test in the journal Öko-Test shows that not even 20 percent of the plaque was removed after three minutes of chewing. In contrast, brushing your teeth with a toothbrush removes around 70 to 90 percent of the plaque. Dental care chewing gum cannot replace brushing your teeth.
Xylitol
The dental care chewing gums are partially sweetened with xylitol , which is considered the best sugar substitute because it is considered to be very weakly cariogenic.
For a Finnish study, 170 children were asked to chew sugar-free gum three times a day after meals . In the boys and girls who regularly chew gum, an average of 45 percent less new caries damage was discovered after two years than in the children in a control group. Chewing gums were used that were 100% sweetened with xylitol. Most dental care chewing gums available in Germany mainly contain sorbitol and only a small proportion of xylitol. The problem is that the harmless oral bacteria are "starved" by sorbitol, the caries-causing Streptococcus mutans , which can break down sorbitol to alcohol, but is favored.
A recent study confirms that low daily doses of xylitol reduce the amount of dental plaque.
fluoride
There are also dental chewing gums that contain fluoride . Up to a certain amount, fluoride protects the teeth by replacing the hydroxylapatite in tooth enamel, which is more easily soluble due to acids . However, excess can lead to whitish or brownish spots on newly erupting teeth in children, a condition known as fluorosis .
See also
Web links
- Chewing instead of cleaning. Chewing gum will keep your teeth clean even if they are not brushed for days. On: Wissenschaft.de from November 15, 2005
Individual evidence
- ↑ ÖKO-TEST: Dental care chewing gum ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), October 1996.
- ↑ Oral prophylaxis & children's dentistry: Effect of xylitol lozenges on dental plaque and Streptococcus mutans (PDF; 61 kB), 2004.