Anyone else chew gum when out in public to mask the smell?

[coconuthead]

I seem to chew a lot of gum when I'm out in public. Hoping that it would somehow mask the smell a little. I used to chew it all day long, but I stopped because I was afraid it would cause cavities. The gum chewing also helps with the bad taste I get in my mouth.

[jess]

Well i never go in public without chewing gum. But i only use 100% xilytol sweetened gum cause i want to still have my own teeth in my mouth when I'm like 90 years old. The good thing is the more you chew on those 100% xilytol gums the more you're preventing cavities. So thank God for them!!

[mike987]

I seem to chew a lot of gum when I'm out in public. Hoping that it would somehow mask the smell a little. I used to chew it all day long, but I stopped because I was afraid it would cause cavities. The gum chewing also helps with the bad taste I get in my mouth.

Why would chewing gum cause cavities? What are you chewing, Bubble Yum?

Never chew gum that has sugar in it. What's the point? Never suck a lozenge or throat candy that has sugar either.. again.. pointless!

Even tic tacs have sugar in them. What the ***k!? The industry for fresh breath is a joke!


I've found that chewing gum, for whatever reason, actually makes my breath worse.. My theory is that the flavor 'syrup' just lays on top of the flesh in my mouth and prevents it from saliva getting to it.. It drys out my mouth a bit, chewing gum, it seems. So I never chew it.

I do eat a lot of tiny mints though. I just let them sit in my mouth for saliva flow..

[halitosisux]

Hey Mike, I've mentioned this to you before, but you didn't reply.
But could all those mints be having a laxative effect?
Most sugarfree mints have warnings about this, and it's quite possible that the amout you are likely to eat in a day could be high enough to do that.

Just a thought.

[mike987]

Sorry if I didn't reply. After you had said that I cut back on the mints. Still, I need to pop a couple every hour or so during classes to keep my mouth moist if just for a few minutes.

My stomach was feeling rather bloated today, but that also happens when I get stressed out during classes. The mints are a fairly new strategy I took up to replace the nonstop lozenge use which seemed to be burning away my gums where I had stored them in my mouth. I had extreme tooth pain in those areas for the longest time, and I finally put two and two together.

Your theory is sound, but I haven't noticed if it's changed my breath one way or the other. But yeah, I have cut back out of paranoia.

I'm not sure if there's a correlation, but I can't say there ISN'T.. Is there a theory for why bloating and gas (scentless or mostly scentless) could initiate bad breath?

[jess]

Why would chewing gum cause cavities? What are you chewing, Bubble Yum?

Never chew gum that has sugar in it.

Well I believe you answer your own question. Chewing gums cause cavities because of the insane amount of sugar that's in them.
As far as I know chewing gums are all sweetened with some types of sugar, and the only sweetener that won't cause cavities, but will actually prevent them, is xilytol (if someone thinks I'm wrong here, don't hesitate to correct me with proof). And that also goes for mints, losenges, etc; they're all full of sugar. So for all of us here, that I'm sure cannot live without chewing gum because of our condition, we are doing a diservice to our teeth if we keep on using those gums, mints, losenges, etc that are full of sugar and will damage our teeth with each use.

[halitosisux]

Mike, has it made your stools more solid?

I don't really know what to say about bloating or gas. We could be doing nothing but generalizing on something that most people tend to suffer with as part of "modern" lifestyles.

If I remember correctly, you've had ENT checks and tests for helicobacter, parasites, IBS and the various digestion/intolerance tests.

Have you considered having your breath gases analysed to see whether that can give you any clues as to where the odour is originating from?

[mike987]

Jess, I was under the impression virtually all chewing gum that weren't designed for toddlers were sugarfree these days. Maybe that's just the trend in Japan though. Strnagely though, the majority of throat lozenges, even the healthy, probiotic ones often have sugar in them.. And I think.. What is the point? What a crock of crap, these products.

halitosissux, Yes, I've had those checked, but I'm not too sure the docs themselves are even sure.

And I've yet to do a breath test. I've been skirting around actually going to a doctor and saying 'I have bad breath, help me'. For one, it'd be incredibly embarrassing... two I fear I'd be snagged into buying useless things for a problem that may not yet have a solution. . I don't trust these doctors. and three, I'm not sure I could articulate the issue well enough in Japanese. Then again, that might make it easier.. Just tell them 'my breath stinks.. please help'.

I still think about it doing it, I had just hoped that by tackling the related issues individually I'd discover the real issue.. And I'm not sure I have the balls for it just yet.. :/

[deebo]

people used to give it to me at work when i started . I'd put in in my mouth right there in front of them . THey stopped giving gumms when they found out it didn't do jack for my odor .

[coconuthead]

Well i never go in public without chewing gum. But i only use 100% xilytol sweetened gum cause i want to still have my own teeth in my mouth when I'm like 90 years old. The good thing is the more you chew on those 100% xilytol gums the more you're preventing cavities. So thank God for them!!

Jess, where can I find 100% xilytol sweetened gum? Do they sell it in stores?

[jess]

I don't know if they sell them in stores; I usually buy mine online from epicdental.com. There's also zellies, and I'm sure if you do some research you'll find other companies that sell them. I think the key is they have to be 100% xylitol and not have any other sweetener.

I think some companies say that their products are swweetened with xylitol, but the truth is they only add a very small amount of it and add other sweeteners, so again do your research.

Btw, I don't work for those companiess I mentioned above

[deebo]

i have seen xylitol gums at Whole foods . They will often carry this at 'Heath food 'stores and some supplement shops too. Same for the organic products aisles at certain grocery stores.

Personally ,I'd just email some companies and ask for samples , the one thats best could be ordered online

[mike987]

Are non sugar artificial sweeteners bad for breath?

[jess]

Are non sugar artificial sweeteners bad for breath?

I'm not sure about the answer to this because I don't know much about artificial sweeteners. I don't know whether or not bacteria can feed on them, therefore causing/ increasing bad breath/ tooth decay, etc.

But with the amount of gums, mints, etc that we use everyday, I don't think it's a good thing to use the ones sweetened with artificial sweeteners because too much of them may not be good for our health (in my opinion). So I wouldn't indulge in them even if they didn't necessarily cause bad breath.

[deebo]

found a 100% xylitol gum ,: "Xylichew, gmo free" http://www.tundratrading.com/text/xyligum.html
. Like Jess though ,there can be other affects caused by the ingredients . For instance ,this gum has lecithin which i've used to choline load before tmau test . (i didnt smell so good)

If you know the issue is inter-oral xylitol(sugar alcohol) is said to not promote decay like complete sugars .