With orthodontic braces can you chew gum?
Chewing gum has become a staple of many people’s daily life – often as a way to combat stress, concentrate or to simply keep a fresh breath. Therefore, when they receive their braces they often ask whether they can continue to chew gum. In short we would highly recommend avoiding chewing gum whilst you have braces for numerous reasons:
• Braces are installed via brackets being attached to your teeth. These brackets then help in straightening the teeth and realign their position, thus creating a new smile for the wearer. However, the success of the braces is very dependent on the oral hygiene of the user and their dental upkeep during this period. Chewing gum, for instance, can have a hugely negative effect on the braces.
• Chewing gum might not damage the brackets by pulling them off but should the gum get stuck in the wiring then it could cause problems when you attempt to remove it. For example, you could accidently bend the wire or damage the bracket yourself.
• More worryingly you could chew the gum without noticing that some has become stuck which over time could bend the wire and then cause your teeth’s realignment to be negatively affected. This would result in having to visit the dentist again and may lead to the braces having to be replaced or fixed and add more time to the overall treatment period.
Braces will help correct your teeth and can help boost your confidence and therefore quitting chewing gum for just a short period is a small price to pay for a fresh start for your smile.
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