Tag Archives: plaque

Are you a Snacker or a Grazer?

In today’s era, your busy lifestyle means that your eating habits are changing from the traditional three meals a day to more snacking or grazing while you are on-the-go, then now it’s a time to include chewing sugar free gum in your oral hygiene routine.

The definition for the word ‘grazing’ in the dictionary is ‘eating frequently at irregular intervals’ – not quite the same as snacking, but probably more frequent.  It comes down to grabbing something to eat on-the-go when and where we can. Breakfast at the desk, a couple of mid-morning biscuits, sandwiches and crisps for lunch and an afternoon treat to keep us going, with several cups of tea or coffee in between.

So,  this is not really a good news for our teeth which come under sustained attack from the plaque acids that form on teeth and can damage the enamel whilst all this snacking and grazing is going on. Every time we eat or drink the pH balance in the mouth changes, dropping into a danger zone where tooth demineralisation can happen. This can also leads to variety of oral health issues and can make you visit Dentist.

The simple and convenient step of chewing sugar free gum for 20 minutes after eating and drinking is a great addition to twice-a-day brushing because it helps neutralise those plaque acids, wash away food particles and re-mineralise tooth enamel.

There is plenty of scientific research to support the oral hygiene by simply having  sugar free gum, which are even more relevant now as we consume two or three snacks outside of meals every day. Both scientifically and practically proven chewing increases the production of saliva which helps clean the mouth and neutralise plaque acids, hence it’s a non-disruptive and simple oral care habit in addition to brushing and flossing. Therefore this keeps you fresh.