Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Chewing Gum and your TMJ

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Love that Juicy Fruit or Bubble gum? Chewing gum may be a great way to relieve stress for many people, especially smokers and those individuals dieting. There are also many dental benefits of chewing sugarless gum. The gum stimulates the production of saliva which in turn helps to "wash" bacteria off the teeth and gums helping to prevent the little "bugs" from setting up shop.

Dr. Douglas Shin, an oral surgeon from the University of Texas Southwestern reported that constant chewing gum can tire your jaws and lead to muscle fatigue, muscle spasms and pain.

So you chew to help you relax, but the more stressed you are the harder you chew. The harder you chew the more stress you put on your jaw according to Dr. Shin's research, potentiating more damage to your jaw.

Shin suggests that instead of relying on chewing gum the individuals should for for other ways to distract themselves to relieve their stress such as exercising meditation of squeezing a stress ball!

Finding our individual outlet for stress in of paramount importance in our lives and for our overall health!

Kenneth A. Mogell, D.M.D.