Chewing Sugar Free Gum
Dry Mouth
Dry mouth is a common condition, and can be caused by commonly used pescription and non pescription drugs. These include hayfever, depression, nausea and high blood pressure tretment drugs. Having a dry mouth can increase the rate of tooth decay in your mouth, because there is less saliva to break down sugar that causes plaque acid to build up on your teeth.
Saliva
Saliva contains bicarbonate which protects against plaque acid and tooth decay. Chewing gum stimulates saliva to build up in your mouth and so chewing after eating can help as a kind of "natural mouthwash" to breakdown sugars that have built up on your teeth during mealtimes.
Research shows that best results are obtained when chewing twenty minutes after eating. This can stimulate production of saliva by up to ten times the unstimulated volume. Chewing gum has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of tooth decay by up to 40%.