Excessive Gum Chewing May Cause Headaches

Excessive Gum Chewing May Cause Headaches

While chewing sugarless gum can offer oral health benefits, excessive gum chewing may raise the risk of chronic headaches among teenagers, according to a new study, “The Influence of Excessive Chewing Gum Use on Headache Frequency and Severity Among Adolescents,” published in the January issue of Pediatric Neurology.

Stress-induced headaches are common among this age group, but little research has been conducted on the association between headaches and chewing gum. Lead researcher Nathan Watemberg, MD, a child neurologist and epileptologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, noticed that many patients who reported frequent headaches were also habitual gum chewers. To test this theory, he asked 30 teenagers and adolescents with chronic headaches to stop chewing gum for 1 month.

The results were astounding: “Out of our 30 patients, 26 reported significant improvement, and 19 had complete headache resolution,” Watemberg notes. “Twenty of the improved patients later agreed to go back to chewing gum, and all of them reported an immediate relapse of symptoms. Every health professional knows that overuse of the temporomandibular joint will cause headaches,” he observes, adding, “I believe this is what’s happening when children and teenagers chew gum excessively.”

The authors assert their findings can be put into practice immediately by advising young patients who complain of headaches to stop chewing gum. This first step may solve the problem entirely, negating the need for expensive diagnostic tests or additional treatment.

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter

February 2014