Falling asleep with chewing gum in your mouth introduces significant health risks and should be avoided. While chewing gum is a common habit during waking hours, allowing it to remain in the mouth as consciousness fades can lead to several preventable complications. This practice shifts the gum from a controlled oral activity to a potential physical hazard. Health professionals strongly advise spitting out gum before settling down for the night.
The Primary Danger: Choking and Airway Obstruction
The most immediate and concerning hazard of sleeping with gum is the risk of choking and subsequent airway obstruction. As the body enters sleep, protective reflexes like voluntary swallowing and coughing become suppressed. This loss of control means the gum can easily slip from the mouth into the pharynx.
If the gum slides down, it risks being aspirated, moving toward the trachea (windpipe) rather than the esophagus. Aspiration can cause a complete or partial blockage of the airway, a life-threatening situation the sleeping person cannot resolve. In rare but documented instances, individuals have died after inhaling or aspirating chewing gum while they were asleep. The gum’s consistency makes it a dangerous foreign body because it can adhere to the throat lining and is difficult to dislodge.
Impact on Dental and Jaw Health
Allowing gum to rest in your mouth overnight poses a chronic threat to your teeth and the mechanics of your jaw joint. Continuous exposure to gum, especially sugared varieties, creates an ideal environment for dental decay. Oral bacteria break down sugar into acid, which then erodes the protective enamel layer of the teeth. Even sugar-free gums contain acidic flavorings or sugar alcohols that can contribute to enamel erosion.
The habit can also strain the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which connects the jawbone to the skull. During sleep, unconscious chewing motions (parafunctional habits) put prolonged force on the jaw muscles and joint. This overuse can lead to muscle fatigue, chronic jaw pain, and contribute to the development or worsening of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD).
What Happens If You Swallow the Gum?
A common concern is the belief that swallowed gum remains in the stomach for several years, but this is a popular myth that lacks scientific basis. Chewing gum is largely composed of an indigestible base that the human digestive system cannot break down or absorb. However, the body is designed to move non-nutritive materials through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Peristalsis, the natural muscular contractions of the GI tract, efficiently pushes the swallowed gum through the stomach and intestines. A single piece of gum will usually pass through the body and be excreted in the stool, intact, typically within 40 hours. The risk of a problem only becomes elevated in rare situations involving the frequent swallowing of large amounts of gum, which could contribute to an intestinal blockage.