Can You Chew Gum With A Removable Retainer?

By: Your One and Only, Online Dental Expert - Writer, Mr. Efrain E. Silva!

You have heard the saying before, that you can walk and chew gum at the same time…. well, maybe not literally so, when, in fact, you’ve got removable retainers in the mouth. The fact is so simple and so plain that even a small little child can get it —- gum sticks. And when it sticks to the roof of something, in this case, the roof of your retainers, it’s a painful mess to get out. And it takes a lot of patience and swiggling around, just to get out every single little piece of sticky gum residue that’s in there. And believe me, I have often been at it for up to an hour, sometimes even just a little longer than that…. I can tell you, it is not worth it to chew gum when you’ve got that thing in there. Take the retainer out, if you are able and allowed to, for whatever length of time that you can ; then chew the gum and spit it out when you are all done chewing it ; and then, at the end, rinse your mouth just a little bit and then put the retainer back in. That is what I suggest so that you won’t even have to have such a sticky problem ( literally ) on your hands in the first place…. play it smart.

Now, when it comes to biting down on the gum, all in all, it sticks to the retainer right away… and it also, in turn, tends to twist the retainer, too. Did you know that? Of course, all while this is happening, you are ever – so – innocently just chewing your sweet Melon – flavored gum and are not even aware of what is really going on inside…. that is the danger of it all. And retainers made of acrylic plastic are the worst, at this —- and guess what? Most of them that, I know, are made of that. The gum easily sticks, and since there’s salival glands usually moistening the inner recesses of your mouth all at the same time, working non – stop, it makes the gum only stick even more easily. The moisture of the saliva keeps things gooey, wet and sticky, all in all… and the retainer tends to be a super – adhesive sort of ‘magnet’ for this, if you will… make sense?

So the lesson of the story is this, my friend : DON’T chew your favorite gum while having your removable retainer on? It will be a timely mess to un – stick. It will annoy the heck out of you. It’s just not worth it. DO walk and chew gum at the same time, but just make sure that the retainer is removed before you pop the gum in your mouth. And save yourself, and your precious retainer, a world of trouble. Hope this has helped.