Effect of Gum-Chewing on Facial Appearance and Stomatognathic System

Abstract

cc This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Purpose: This study was planned to clarify a negative view of chewing gum due to the concern that continuous gum chewing might cause a change in the gonial angle and make the lower facial appearance look square. Materials and Methods: We had 25 adults (13 males and 12 females, with an average of 27.3 years) chew 6 g of gum (spearmint) evenly with both right and left posterior teeth for one hour per day for three months. We then measured their gonial angle, the inclination of occlusal plane, facial height, bone marrow density, and masticatory force before chewing, 1, 2, and 3 month after chewing to verify its signifi cance statistically. Result: The results showed that the gonial angle increased from 122.7 o to 123.3 o (P>0.05), and thus the jaws became slightly slimmer. There was no change in the occlusal plane inclination and facial height. Meanwhile bone marrow density in the mandibular angle and ascending ramus increased from 0.285 g/cm 2 to 0.290 g/cm 2 (P<0.05), and masticatory force also increased by 0.5 kg on the right side and 0.8 kg on the left side (P<0.05). Conclusion: Continuous chewing of gum gives an appropriate exercise effect to the stomatognathic system. As chewing gum has effect on increase bone marrow density without changing the mandibular angle and facial appearance the claim that jaw bone changes to a square jaw through chewing gum is regarded to be groundless.

Association between Temporomandibular Disorder and Masticatory Muscle Weakness: A Case report

“…Research on chewing gums, however, reported that chewing gum for 40 to 60 minutes a day was not appropriate to become an experimental model for causing TMD pain [7]. In fact, one study reported that continuous gum chewing can be an effective exercise for the oromandibular function that does not accompany changes in mandibular angle or facial appearance [8]. Another study suggested that gum chewing can improve the anteroposterior occlusal balance and increase the occlusal contact area and occlusal force, thereby preventing downward rotation of the mandible [9].…”