Can You Chew Gum Instead Of Flossing?

Here’s the short version: no.

The long version does have some good news, though: while chewing gum isn’t as thorough at scrubbing teeth as brushing and while it can’t reach between teeth the way floss can, chewing sugar-free gum can improve the health of your teeth.

When you chew gum, you salivate more, and the extra saliva means extra enzymes to break down the food particles in your mouth so they dissolve and let you swallow them. It also means clearing any acid out of your mouth left over from things like juice and soda. Both of these mean your mouth is cleaner and the bacteria that create plaque have less to eat.

Because gum is sticky, it can also help you get food particles out of your mouth. You shouldn’t count on it to get the food or the plaque out from between your teeth, but it does save you from having to get a toothpick. It’s not the same as brushing, but you can chew gum in plenty of places where a toothbrush is hard to find.

Still, there is no real substitute for flossing. You might say you have no time for flossing, but thanks to disposable floss picks you can floss on the go. You can even combine a pick with gum to clean your teeth after a midday meal.

You shouldn’t let the pain of flossing get to you, either. While gums can swell and bleed at first, this is because your gums can become sensitive thanks to plaque buildup. The same thing can happen if you don’t brush your teeth regularly, but in both cases the pain, swelling, and bleeding will go away once you start brushing and flossing on a regular schedule.

Another reason people give for not flossing is because they’re worried they might floss out their fillings, but of course this is nothing to worry about. Biting and chewing hard foods puts much more pressure on fillings than anything floss can do, and if a filling falls out from flossing or from chewing gum then it’s because something else dislodged it first. Proper fillings are more than strong enough to stand up to proper dental care.

So if you want to think of sugar-free gum as a way to keep your teeth healthy, then you’re on the right track. But if you think it can replace brushing or flossing, then you need to spit the gum out and get back to taking care of your teeth and gums.