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I'm just wondering what you guys think? I know most of us have been told NOT to chew gum while in braces. I always thought the reason was because it can get stuck in the brackets or something in the gum could loosen a bracket???
But listen to this: I only chew sugarfree gum.One appt I had with the ortho I walked in chewing my sugarfree gum as I've done a few times...
One of the assistants saw me and said " You know what chewing gum does to the archwire? I answered .... I know that chewing gum can get stuck in the braces and stuff but I chew all the way in the back molars and only sugarfree gum. The assistant told me that chewing gum ,regardless if it was sugarfree or not would "De-activate" the archwire and the wire would not work ... I forgot her exact words but I gave her a look like she was talking crap
Can anyone with a bit more knowledge about chewing gum and archwires explain if this is true or not. I'm going to Google this now
you should have asked her to detail for you the chemical reaction that would cause such a thing to happen...sounds like she was having a bad day and wanted to stir you
Actually I did google it and found nothing like she was talking about. I did find many links and sites regarding chewing gum and braces. The number #1 reason/complaint that orthodontist are against gum chewing is because of the huge messes that some of their child patients have come in with.
I only found one ortho that wrote that he suggested to all his patients not to chew gum while their first archwire was on because it was soooo flexible that he had a few patients chew gum and this archwire came loose off the bracket because of hard chewing.The patient did not notice that the wire was slightly off the bracket at their next adjustment and the ortho explains that this prolonged treatment by 2 extra months sometimes.Because of the wire is not in the bracket then the tooth will not have proper movement and sometimes no movement at all....
But NOTHING found that chewing gum has any ingredient that causes an archwire to lose it's flexibility in any way....
So she was probably having a bad day.But I always listen to my gut and it was saying that this was a load of CRAP! lol
I recall reading somewhere that with your first, flexible, thermally-activated wire, chewing gum could be an issue because the act of constantly chewing raises the temperature in your mouth (thus screwing with the normal activation of the wire).
This may or may not be total bull, as I couldn't find that source again, but maybe someone else will know about this one.
personally, I think that it's an urban legend that chewing gum has a negative effect on the orthodontic treatment. I'm chewing more gum than ever and it has not interfered with the treatment. If anything, it has had a positive effect (see my pics!!!). Furthermore gum increases your saliva production which helps prevent cavities which is something you do not want when in braces as it delays the treatment!!
Even if the gum gets stuck in the brackets, what's the problem? You just remove the gum!!! When you eat, food stuff also get stuck in the brackets. You remove it and move on! I asked by ortho and he agrees that gum per se is not harmful.
One piece of advice, though. I don't chew the regular gum which is too soft and sticky. If possible try find some 'dental gum'. In Denmark you can buy a gum called 'V6' which has a harder consistence meaning that you do not have to remove gum from the braces all the time!! In Denmark it's sold everywhere. I'm sure that there must be similar gums abroad.
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009
My dentist, who is a minor ortho as well, but is not doing me, chews gum and recommends Trident or Orbit as "dental safe" gums. My ortho said I could try with invisalign but it was not possible. However, now that I'm all metal I can chew gum again and it is real nice. (Also helps dislodge food if there is any delay in brushing after a meal.)
chewing gum saved my sanity! Pre braces I'd always be chewing the cud - not very attractive, but I felt it kept my breath fresh.
Once braced, I found chewing anything utterly painful and got very hungry... but slimmer, yay
However, I became paranoid thinking my breath wasn't super minty fresh all the time although I was brushing through the day, so I persisted with the gum. First couple of chomps were excruciating but once it softened I was fine and haven't looked back! It certainly helped with the sensitive teeth and am now back to eating normally
but slimmer, yay 
