Can Gum Help Keep Your Mouth Healthy?

Did you know that just by chewing a little piece of the right kind of gum you can:

• Prevent tooth decay
• Starve bacteria
• Prevent oral inflammation
• Reduce your risk for gum disease

It may sound too good to be true, but one important ingredient can make all the difference: Xylitol.

Xylitol is not just another unhealthy artificial sweetener. Instead, it’s a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that does far more than keep glycemic levels healthy and low. Of course it does that too without compromising taste or sweetness, but it can also make a major difference in your oral health.

How Xylitol Gum Protects Your Mouth

One of the most common causes of oral health problems is a bacteria called Streptococcus mutans — the bacteria mostly responsible for plaque. This bacteria feeds on sugars and carbohydrates that linger in your mouth. Since Xylitol does not produce the carbohydrates the plaque needs to live, the bacteria injests Xylitol, fills with a substance that offers no nutrition, and starves. That means your oral oral bacteria levels drop — sometimes by up to 75%!

Other Benefits of Xylitol Gum

Killing bacteria is exciting enough, but chewing a piece of Xylitol gum can do even more:

• Chewing Xylitol gum increases saliva production which protects your teeth and remineralizes them with naturally occurring calcium and phosphate.
• Acidity in your mouth can lead to enamel erosion. Xylitol in gum or mints can reduce the acidity of your saliva.
• Xylitol can help your body better absorb calcium which we all know can strengthen your teeth.

To learn more about how chewing Xylitol can benefit your oral health, or for suggestions about which Xylitol products to use, give my Bakersfield dental office a call today.

Welcoming patients from Bakersfield, Shafter, and Tehachapi.