A lot of the (mouth) guards we make help certain types of sleep apnea. |
A lot people are in denial about it. They look at it as a real negative. It's a coping mechanism and not a positive one. |
Historically, we have been looking for ways to have people get better sooner from major abdominal surgery, especially intestinal surgery. |
I could probably find evidence of grinding or clenching on almost everybody who comes in. |
It certainly is very appealing and cheap to do. Although I'm not a huge believer that this is going to change the world, I certainly am going to offer gum to people in my own practice. There's really no downside. |
It's a nice study and I'm probably going to end up saying if you want to chew gum, chew gum. I don't think gum is the magic bullet, but it can't hurt. |
The theory behind the paper is that actual chewing stimulates a neuronal and hormonal reflex that helps to awaken the gut. Certainly, there's a great deal of appeal to that theory. |