The fact that there was simply no chewing gum in our stores before, now only adults can remember. The younger generation cannot even imagine that one can live without this product. This is understandable – today chewing gum is chewed by everyone, from children to older people. In addition, chewing gum advertisements can now be seen everywhere, and recently sugar-free chewing gum has appeared on sale, which dentists advise us to use from commercials.
Pros and cons of chewing gum
But can we really do without chewing gum?? What are the positive and negative sides of chewing gum? Let’s devote the following article to this issue and consider all the pros and cons of chewing gum.
So, first let’s look at all the positive aspects of using chewing gum. When a person chews gum, he produces a large amount of saliva. And it, in turn, destroys the pathogenic bacteria present in the oral cavity, thereby protecting the teeth from diseases. This, of course, is her advantage.
We go further. Chewing gum can clean your teeth of food debris. This, of course, is also not bad, but only at the same time you need to keep in mind that you cannot remove all food residues only with chewing gum. Therefore, so that food does not remain, for example, in the gaps of your teeth or between your teeth, after each meal you need to use dental floss and brush your teeth twice a day – in the morning and in the evening.
Another undoubted advantage of chewing gum is that when it is chewed in the human body, not only saliva is intensively produced, but also gastric juice, which is necessary for the correct and rapid digestion of food. But this is relevant and only necessary if you use chewing gum immediately after eating. In other cases, increased production of gastric juice can only harm the body. After all, as you know, an excess of gastric juice in an empty stomach can contribute to the development of gastric gastritis.
This is where the list of positives associated with chewing gum ends. As you can see, there are not so many such points.
Pros and cons of chewing gum
Now let’s move on to the negative side of chewing gum.
Chewing gum intended for children does not use sweeteners, but sugar, so by definition they cannot restore the acid-base balance in the mouth. In this regard, such chewing gum, especially children, is better not to chew – they can contribute to the development of caries in the oral cavity.
Frequent use of chewing gum can cause loose teeth, which is also very unpleasant. Allergy sufferers should be very attentive to chewing gums – they should not forget that there are practically no natural ingredients in chewing gums.
Also, chewing gum before meals, that is, on an empty stomach, can negatively affect your health. As we noted earlier, in this case, excess gastric juice, being in the stomach, can cause irritation of its mucous membranes, which, in turn, can lead to gastritis.
So that chewing gum does not cause harm to your health or the health of your child, you need to use it according to the rules. It should be chewed only after eating. Chewing gum for more than 10-15 minutes can already be unhealthy. Frequent chewing gum is also not recommended – it will be better if you do this no more than 3-4 times a day. It is generally advisable for small children not to give chewing gum – in addition to the fact that it can harm their health, they can also accidentally swallow it.
Pros and cons of chewing gum
It is also not recommended to use chewing gum for pregnant women and nursing mothers – chewing gum in some people can even cause a change in hormonal levels, which is highly undesirable for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
