As chewing gum has been proven to reduce tooth decay risk after sugary snacks, which gums are best for me?

Most mainstream chewing gums are highly synthetic, made from petrochemicals and are laced with artificial sweeteners and preservatives. As a test, burn a strip of gum in a candle flame and witness the black petroleum smoke and smell. They may be better than nothing, but personally if I cannot chew a natural based gum from companies like Georganics, Peppersmith or Kaigum, I would rather just not swallow for 1-3 minutes to pool a mouthful of the best mouthwash on the planet. Our own God given SALIVA. When washing with saliva, especially if chewing gum, food particles will be dislodged and moved away from our teeth and dentistry. It acts like a toothbrush. The diet of our ancestors, like the wild animal kingdom kept our teeth clean, our biofilm more alkaline and whilst they developed dental wear, dental caries was rare or non existent. We are really seeing the same problem with domesticated dogs and cats who now keep vets extremely busy with tooth decay and gum disease.

The above natural chewing gums are not only derived from plant based gums but also are sweetened with Xylitol and without the controversial aspartame. Xylitol has been a game changer for dental health since its breakthrough discovery in Finland in The 1970’s.

How does xylitol work? Xylitol prevents caries in several ways. First, it interferes with the bacteria's ability to produce acid. Second, it blocks communication between bacteria so they stop producing the polysaccharide slime that holds the biofilm together. Third, it raises the pH of the mouth. Cariogenic bacteria prefer living in a low pH environment and produce the acid that demineralizes enamel. In the presence of xylitol, the bacteria stop producing acid and the polysaccharide slime that holds the biofilm together, and they simply slide off the teeth. In the presence of sugar, bacteria thrive, produce acid and stick to the teeth. Bacterial numbers are significantly reduced in the presence of xylitol. Xylitol promotes an alkaline oral environment which is conducive to oral health.

Sucrose forms complexes with calcium that allows precipitation of calcium out of saliva while xylitol forms complexes with calcium that do not produce acid and maintain a supersaturated calcium level in saliva, which is important for remineralization of enamel. This is critical when teeth first erupt and are not completely mineralized. The ability of xylitol to maintain high salivary calcium levels as teeth erupt enhances final mineralization of these teeth.  The ability of xylitol to bind with calcium is also evident in higher calcium levels measure in plaque when xylitol is present.

Published Research on Chewing Gum & Xylitol

Oral

Effect of xylitol on cariogenic and beneficial oral streptococci: a randomized, double-blind crossover trial https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3434645/

Xylitol chewing gums and caries rates: a 40-month cohort study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8600188/

Long-term effect of xylitol chewing gum in the prevention of dental caries: a follow-up 5 years after termination of a prevention program https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8281565/

Effects of nine different chewing-gums and lozenges on salivary flow rate and pH https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1628291/

The role of salivary contents and modern technologies in the remineralization of dental enamel: a narrative review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7076334/

Xylitol, an Anticaries Agent, Exhibits Potent Inhibition of Inflammatory Responses in Human THP-1-Derived Macrophages Infected With Porphyromonas gingivalis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4775082/

Chewing gum--facts and fiction: a review of gum-chewing and oral health https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10759416/

Sugar-free chewing gum and dental caries: a systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19089107/

Salivary flow patterns and the health of hard and soft oral tissues https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18460676/

In vitro remineralisation of eroded enamel lesions by saliva https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11472810/

History of frequent gum chewing is associated with higher unstimulated salivary flow rate and lower caries severity in healthy Chinese adults https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22813956/

Effects of xylitol-containing chewing gum on the oral microbiota https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30429438/

Effect of Chewing Xylitol Containing and Herbal Chewing Gums on Salivary Mutans Streptococcus Count among School Children https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26097673/

Xylitol, mutans streptococci, and dental plaque https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19717413/

The effect of xylitol on dental caries and oral flora https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4232036/

Effects of xylitol chewing gum and candies on the accumulation of dental plaque: a systematic review https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00784-021-04225-8

Halitosis: From diagnosis to management https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3633265/

Effects of gum chewing training on oral function in normal adults: Part 1 investigation of perioral muscle pressure https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6445978/

Effects of gum chewing exercise on maximum bite force according to facial morphology https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5893462/

Neurological

Effects of chewing gum on the stress and work of university students https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22402304/

Effects of chewing gum on stress and health: a replication and investigation of dose-response https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22496105/

Chewing gum and stress reduction https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6410656/

CHEWING AS A TECHNIQUE OF RELAXATION - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17776097/

The role of time on task performance in modifying the effects of gum chewing on attention https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21192998/

Chewing and attention: a positive effect on sustained attention https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26075234/

Chewing gum: cognitive performance, mood, well-being, and associated physiology https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26075253/

Chewing gum alleviates negative mood and reduces cortisol during acute laboratory psychological stress https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19268676/

Gum Chewing Inhibits the Sensory Processing and the Propagation of Stress-Related Information in a Brain Network https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3616056/

Prolonged rhythmic gum chewing suppresses nociceptive response via serotonergic descending inhibitory pathway in humans https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16202533/

Effects of chewing gum and time-on-task on alertness and attention https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22583804/

Effects of chewing gum on cognitive function, mood and physiology in stressed and non-stressed volunteers https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20132649/

The effect of chewing gum on physiological and self-rated measures of alertness and daytime sleepiness https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938411005087#:~:text=%5B4%5D%20reported%20higher%20self%2D,alertness%20accentuation%20are%20mirrored%20physiologically.

Gut

Gut microflora interactions with xylitol in the mouse, rat and man https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4076932/

Saliva and gastrointestinal functions of taste, mastication, swallowing and digestion https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1034/j.1601-0825.2002.02851.x

Effects of chewing gum on short-term appetite regulation in moderately restrained eaters https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21718732/

Effects of chewing on appetite, food intake and gut hormones: A systematic review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26188140/

The effect of gum chewing on blood GLP-1 concentration in fasted, healthy, non-obese men https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25758865/

Short-term effects of chewing gum on satiety and afternoon snack intake in healthy weight and obese women https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26948161/

Chewing Stimulation Reduces Appetite Ratings and Attentional Bias toward Visual Food Stimuli in Healthy-Weight Individuals https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5809478/

The effect of chewing sugar-free gum on gastro-esophageal reflux https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16246942/

Chewing gum for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting: a pilot randomized controlled trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28039245/

All Others

Gum chewing enhances early recovery from postoperative ileus after laparoscopic colectomy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12113542/

Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain–Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5859128/

The Vagus Nerve at the Interface of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29467611/

Randomized clinical trial of the effect of gum chewing on postoperative ileus and inflammation in colorectal surgery https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25524125/

Want to block earworms from conscious awareness? B(u)y gum! https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17470218.2015.1034142?journalCode=pqje20

A systematic review on the effect of sweeteners on glycemic response and clinically relevant outcomes https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3286380/

Effects of oral xylitol administration on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in normal subjects https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1184175/

Xylitol Inhibits Inflammatory Cytokine Expression Induced by Lipopolysaccharide from Porphyromonas gingivalis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1287760/

Xylitol chewing gum in prevention of acute otitis media: double blind randomised trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8916749/#:~:text=Results%3A%20During%20the%20two%20month,17.0%25%3B%20P%20%3D%200.04).

Antifungal Activity of Xylitol against Candida albicans: An in vitro Study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29422459/