Studies have shown that chewing gum, or rather sugarless chewing gum, within 20 minutes after a meal can help reduce dental caries. But chewing gum is not a substitute for brushing and flossing.
When you have something in your mouth, your salivary glands are stimulated to produce saliva. One of the effects of saliva is to clean the mouth after a meal. Therefore, chewing sugarless chewing gum can stimulate the continuous production of oral saliva. This will remove some of the food residue, as well as some of the plaque that develops after eating the food.
However, chewing gum does not replace regular oral hygiene care. Some plaques can be uniform and stick to teeth. Saliva itself cannot remove it. Only through thorough brushing and flossing can you ensure that plaque is removed from around the teeth to prevent tooth decay, gum disease and tartar build-up.
