Santa Anna’s suggestion gave Adams the idea to sweeten chewing gum and sell it flavored, an idea that made him a millionaire. One day Adams was watching Santa Anna chewing gum, who mentioned that this chewing gum could make him wealthy, since it was the same gummy substance that people from his native Mexico had been extracting from the Zapote trees and chewing on for thousands of years. It was until the 1860s that the American Thomas Adams got his idea for the traditional chewing gum we know today by Mexico’s president Santa Anna, who had gone into exile from the country and boarded with Adams on Staten Island. The chewing gum (chicle) resin is extracted from a tree named the Zapote Blanco or ChicoZapote. Unlike the traditional gum we know today, chewing gum for the Aztecs was flavorless. The women and youngsters would chew gum to clean their teeth. Chewing gum dates back to the ancient Mesoamerican people of Mexico, although it is unknown if the Mayans chewed gum, there is evidence that suggests that the Ancient Aztecs indeed chewed gum. American Dental Association.Among the many things Mexico has given to the world, chewing gum is one of them. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.Ĭhewing Gum. Cleveland Clinic.ĭoes Gum Chewing Increase the Prevalence of Temporomandibular Disorders in Individuals With Gum Chewing Habits. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.ĭry mouth (xerostomia). The effect of medicated chewing gums on oral health in frail older people: a 1-year clinical trial. Critical Reviews of Oral Biology and Medicine.ĭoes gum chewing increase the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in individuals with gum chewing habits? (September 2014). General Dentistry.Ĭhewing gum – facts and fiction: a review of gum-chewing and oral health. Cedars-Sinai.Īn association between temporomandibular disorder and gum chewing. Mott Children's Hopsital – University of Michigan Health.Ĭommon Choking Hazards and What to Do if You Choke. American Dental Association.Ĭhoking Prevention. Chewing Gum & Oral Health FAQsĬhewing Gum. Instead, they can use oral health aids like medicated mouthwashes or oral sprays. If a senior is experiencing problems in any of these areas, it is not safe for them to chew gum. They may also have additional conditions such as Parkinson’s disease which also increase their risk of choking. Many older people have decreased muscle control and a weaker gag reflex that makes it hard for them to avoid choking on items in their mouth. However, chewing gum can be as much of a hazard for some seniors as it is for young children. It also significantly decreased the levels of plaque in their mouths. In one study, chewing medicated gum twice a day for a year offered nursing home residents significant protection against common conditions such as denture stomatitis and angular cheilitis. Their findings so far suggest that chewing gum can be extremely helpful for seniors. This has led some researchers to investigate whether chewing gum could be a useful tactic to protect seniors’ oral health. Seniors often experience more oral health issues than the general population, and they may not always be able to brush and floss as thoroughly as they used to. Offering your child gum during the day can be a great way to help them keep up their oral hygiene even when they are too busy to brush their teeth. While ingesting the gum won’t harm them, they may choke on the gum while attempting to swallow it.Īfter age 4, chewing gum poses no risk to children. This is because very young children usually do not understand that they are not supposed to swallow the gum. ChildrenĬhewing gum for oral health is not recommended for children under age 4.

However, there are some special considerations for people who are very young or very old. In general, people of any age can benefit from chewing gum for oral health purposes.

Clorets gum