Choosing Chewing Gum for Dentures: Can I Still Chew Gum After I Get Dentures?

If many of your teeth are badly damaged, dentures can restore your ability to chew your food in comfort. While it will take several weeks, possibly months, before you are confidently chewing harder foods like steak or broccoli, with practice, you should be able to enjoy at least most of your favourite foods.

However, if you are someone that occasionally enjoys a stick of gum or two, you are probably wondering if chewing gum is possible while wearing dentures. It is possible but you must be aware of the risks and be ready to take appropriate action if need be.

Chew Denture-Safe Gum

A previous study on the effects of chewing gum on dentures discovered that the softer the gum, the more it stuck to dentures. This means then that you should avoid brands of chewing gum that are known for being soft.

There are several brands of chewing gum that offer denture-friendly gum, such as Wrigley's Freedent and Biotene. Both of these chewing gums are designed with denture wearer's in mind and will help to prevent dry mouth while you are wearing your dentures.

Choose Neutral Colours

Did you know that the surface of acrylic dentures contains microscopic pores? Because of these tiny pores, it is possible for staining molecules to cling to your dentures causing them to become discoloured. When selecting a non-stick chewing gum, ensure that you choose neutral colours as these are much less likely to stain your dentures.

Whatever you choose, you will need to ensure that you clean your dentures thoroughly after chewing gum.

Do Not Try to Scrub Gum Off Your Dentures

Ideally, you should either quit chewing gum or cut down as much as possible because even denture-friendly gum is not completely infallible. There may be times when you find that chewing gum has left a sticky residue on your dentures. This is especially true if you chew gum that isn't designed for dentures or fillings.

Whatever you do, do not scrub or scrape your dentures with metal objects like knives as this will wear your dentures down. Doing so could cause them to break or not fit as comfortably as they did before. Instead, apply some vegetable oil to the dentures, then with a soft cloth, gently rub the gum off the dentures using a circular motion. Afterwards, use your normal denture cleaner to remove any remaining gum.

As long as you are careful, your dentures will be fine. However, if you damage them, be sure to visit your dentist or local denture clinic to have them repaired before they negatively impact your oral health.