Chewing Gum and Bad Breath
Have you asked yourself, what is the purpose of a chewing gum? Chewing gum can't make you full because it is only designed to be chewed and not to be swallowed. But, many are buying chewing gum and bad breath can be one of the reasons.
There are several types of gums that are designed for specific reasons, like nicotine gum- for people who are trying to quit smoking, sugar-free gums that are designed for dental hygiene. There are also gums claiming to whiten teeth, clean teeth, and freshen up your breath. Gum helps oral irrigation between and around your teeth, as well as, helps clean and remove particles of food. For bad breath sufferer, this can be good news to you for theses are some chewing gum specially made for halitosis.
Chewing gum and bad breath can be a perfect match, don't you think? It might come handy, especially after a dinner date in which you have eaten food that gives you a "not so pleasant" kind of breath. Odors on your breath that are caused by food are temporary and will be gone in a day or so. But, what if you are in a romantic date? You wouldn't want to wait for another hour just to fix your smelly breath, would you? This is when chewing gum and bad breath becomes a perfect combination! If you need a quick fix for your breath, chewing gum can do that. Having some chewing gums in your bag is a good idea; you wouldn't know when it comes handy.
Unfortunately, not all the time chewing gum and bad breath click. If the air that comes out of your mouth smells bad (like a rotten egg) all the time and food has nothing to do with it, chewing gums are not the answer. Even if you chew the strongest mint gum or a box full of chewing gum, the offensive breath will never leave your mouth. If your case is like this, you will need a halitosis product that targets the source and solve your problem.
If the smell that comes out of your mouth is often like the smell of a rotten egg, most particularly at the back of your tongue, chewing gums, breath mints, or any other breath products that you can easily buy at any drugstores will not solve your problem. These chewing gum and bad breath products will only work for a minute or two. They will not attack the odor-causing bacteria that are the underlying cause of your problem.
What you will need is a bad breath product that will reduce the number of odor-causing bacteria living at the back of your tongue. You can purchase mouthwashes that have antibacterial ingredients or that contains oil (like tea oil) which can wash away the bacteria. That is not enough! There are brands that include chewing gum and bad breath mints that targets bacteria in your mouth and freshen up your breath.
Recent Research
Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago has recently conducted a study on chewing gum and bad breath in an effort to find a cure for this often embarrassing condition.
With findings presented at the recent annual meeting of the International Association for Dental Research, the study found that Big Red - the popular cinnamon-flavored chewing gum made by Wrigley's - has the capability of reducing bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria have long been identified by scientists as the reason why some people develop bad breath.
Christine Wu, professor of periodontics and associate dean for research at the UIC College of Dentistry commented that the connection between chewing gum and bad breath was not surprising. The gum, Big Red, used in the study contained cinnamic aldehyde, a plant essential oil used for flavoring.
In her previous studies on chewing gum and bad breath as well as natural antibacterial agents from plant sources that can suppress oral pathogens, Wu found that most of the plant essential oils that she tested can inhibit the growth of bacteria responsible for periodontal infections and cavities. She also states that by inhibiting the growth of these bacteria, the release of volatile substances causing bad breath is prevented.
"In laboratory tests, some of these oils also prevented the growth of three species of oral bacteria associated with bad breath and the production of volatile compounds that cause the unpleasant smell," she explains.
After learning of the laboratory findings from the Wrigley Company in Chicago, Wu decided to launch a clinical trial on the effects of chewing gum and bad breath. Using 15 subjects who were made to chew on one of three gums for 20 minutes, the study sought to compare three types of gums - one with cinnamic aldehyde (Big Red), one with natural flavors but no cinnamic aldehyde and one that is made entirely of base with neither flavors or oil.
Afterwards, the subjects were made to stop chewing the gum. Their saliva was then tested and compared with samples collected before the test or chewing began. Through microbiological analysis, the study showed that the gum containing cinnamic aldehyde was able to reduce the number of anaerobic bacteria in the saliva by 50 percent. The gum was also particularly effective on anaerobic bacteria that usually resided on the back of the tongue, reducing the population by 40 percent.
"Our study shows that chewing gum can be a functional food, having significant impact on oral hygiene over the short term, if it contains antimicrobial agents such as cinnamic aldehyde or other natural active compounds," Wu said. "The product just doesn't mask foul mouth odor; it eliminates the bacteria that causes it, at least temporarily."
Summary
Chewing gum and bad breath products that target the odor-causing in your mouth works for bad breath that are not caused by certain food.
