If you have braces and want to chew gum, sugar-free gum is your only real option. The American Dental Association recommends avoiding sticky foods (including gum) with braces entirely, but research paints a more nuanced picture. A large meta-analysis of 15 studies covering over 2,100 orthodontic patients found that chewing gum had no effect on the rate of bracket breakage, and some orthodontists now consider sugar-free gum acceptable if you chew carefully.
Why Most Orthodontists Say No
The traditional advice is simple: skip gum until your braces come off. The ADA’s concern is that gum can cling to brackets and wires, making them harder to clean and more prone to damage. A loose bracket or bent wire means an extra trip to the orthodontist and potentially a longer treatment time. Regular sugared gum is the worst offender because it’s stickier and feeds the bacteria that cause cavities, especially in the hard-to-clean spaces around brackets.
That said, the blanket ban doesn’t fully account for the difference between sugar-free and regular gum. Sugar-free varieties are formulated to be less sticky, and the clinical evidence on bracket damage suggests the risk is lower than many patients assume.
Sugar-Free Brands to Consider
If you do choose to chew gum with braces, stick exclusively to sugar-free options. Brands commonly recommended for orthodontic patients include Orbit, Pür, XyloBurst, Peppersmith, and Glee Gum. These are all sweetened with sugar substitutes like xylitol or sorbitol rather than sugar, which makes them less adhesive and far less likely to promote tooth decay.
Look for gum that carries the ADA Seal of Acceptance. To earn that seal, a product must pass safety and efficacy testing reviewed by the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. Only sugar-free gums are even eligible for the seal, so it’s a quick way to filter out problematic options.
Gum Can Actually Help With Soreness
Here’s something most braces wearers don’t expect: chewing gum may work as well as over-the-counter painkillers for the soreness that follows an adjustment. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in PubMed Central found that chewing gum provided significant pain relief at every time point measured after an initial archwire was placed. When researchers compared the gum group directly to the group taking analgesics, there was no significant difference in pain levels.
The mechanism is straightforward. Gentle chewing increases blood flow to the tissues around your teeth, which helps reduce inflammation and that deep, achy pressure you feel after a tightening. It’s a low-cost, non-invasive alternative, and the same analysis confirmed it didn’t increase bracket failures. If your teeth are sore after an appointment and you’d rather not take ibuprofen, a piece of sugar-free gum chewed gently for a few minutes is a reasonable option.
What About Xylitol’s Dental Benefits?
Xylitol, the sweetener in many sugar-free gums, has a reputation for fighting cavities. The theory is sound: most cavity-causing bacteria can’t break down xylitol the way they break down sugar, so it essentially starves them rather than feeding them. Over time, this is supposed to reduce plaque and shift the bacterial population in your mouth toward less harmful strains.
For people without braces, that benefit has decent support. But a study published in Progress in Orthodontics specifically tested xylitol’s effects in patients with fixed orthodontic appliances and found no measurable benefit. Xylitol didn’t reduce plaque scores, didn’t lower counts of cavity-causing bacteria in plaque, and didn’t change bacterial levels in saliva compared to patients who simply followed good oral hygiene practices with regular fluoride treatments. The brackets and wires create so many additional surfaces for bacteria to colonize that xylitol alone can’t keep up. Good brushing and flossing matter far more than your choice of gum sweetener while you’re in braces.
How to Chew Safely With Braces
If you’re going to chew gum with braces, a few precautions reduce your risk of a problem:
- Use small pieces. Break the gum in half before chewing. A smaller piece puts less force on your brackets and is less likely to wrap around a wire.
- Chew gently. Avoid biting down hard or snapping the gum. Slow, deliberate chewing keeps pressure low.
- Keep it brief. Five to ten minutes is enough to get the soreness relief or the fresh-breath benefit. Longer sessions increase the chance of gum getting stuck.
- Never chew sugared gum. It’s stickier, harder to clean off hardware, and feeds the bacteria already thriving in the extra nooks braces create.
- Brush afterward. Even sugar-free gum can leave residue around brackets. A quick brush or at least a rinse with water helps.
If Gum Gets Stuck
It happens. If gum wraps around a bracket or wire, resist the urge to yank it off. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to gently work the gum away from the hardware, brushing in small strokes. An interdental brush (the tiny ones shaped like a Christmas tree) can reach between wires and brackets where a regular toothbrush can’t. Rinsing with cold water can help harden the gum slightly, making it easier to peel off in pieces. If gum is stuck in a spot you can’t reach or a bracket feels loose afterward, call your orthodontist rather than trying to pry it free with your fingers or a sharp tool.