| Chewing sugar–free gum after meals can help keep teeth clean |
(NC)—How many times have you thought, “I should bring my toothbrush to work, and brush after lunch,” only to forget the thought almost as quickly as it came to you?
April is Oral Health Month – the perfect time to revisit oral care resolutions. The good news is that even if you forget the toothbrush at home, there is one very simple step you can take on a daily basis that can go a long way toward promoting good oral hygiene.
A recent clinical study showed that while saliva alone can clean almost 30 per cent of food debris from your teeth, chewing a piece of Wrigley's Extra Professional gum two minutes after a meal can boost debris removal to 94 per cent. This is important because it's food debris that can eventually lead to tooth decay.
“It may seem contrary to conventional wisdom, but I will often recommend sugar–free chewing gum to my patients when they can't brush after meals,” says Dr. James Brookfield, a practicing dentist for more than thirty years, dental consultant to Wrigley Canada and past president of the Canadian Dental Association. “The key is to choose a sugar–free gum like Extra Professional. It does two things: the gum helps remove food debris through chewing; and it helps increase the production of saliva, the most important natural defense against tooth decay.” Naturally, there is no substitute for brushing and flossing, but when we're busy and “on the go” it can be reassuring to know that there are simple solutions that can make a difference such as chewing sugar–free gum after each meal. |
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(NC)—If you experience fatigue after eating, or experience gas, bloating, heartburn, acid reflux, or nausea, you may be suffering from impaired digestion due to a lack of proper enzymes in your system.
