Is Chewing Gum a Bad Breath Cure?
Chewing gum is a popular treat for many people. We have one child that would rather chew gum than eat candy. Personally, my jaw gets tired after a while and I have to get rid of it. How did anyone ever get the idea to chew gum anyway?
The first people to chew something similar to chewing gum chewed on oozy sap from trees. The ancient Greeks and the Mayans both had a type of tree that oozed sap that made a good substance to chew on for cleaning the teeth and as a bad breath cure. In the part of North America that is now New England, native people were chewing the sap from spruce trees.
The first example of chewing gum sold commercially in the U.S. was made from spruce. Ultimately, however, the “chicle” sap from the Sapodilla tree, which was used by the Mayans, became the preferred sap for making commercial gum. Paraffin wax was used for chewing for a while, but if you remember those wax lips and scary teeth we used to get back in the ’60’s, you know that chewing on wax is not near as pleasant as chewing gum.
Chewing gum makes the breath feel fresher for a while, but it is certainly not a bad breath cure! If you like to chew gum, though, make sure you get one sweetened with xylitol and not with sugar. We all know sugar damages your teeth. You might look for special chewing gums that contain herbs like neem or nutrients like zinc gluconate.
If you have gum disease, the best bad breath cure is to fight the disease with a program of natural gum care and daily flossing.