‘Fitness Gum’ Can Improve Jawline, But Its Not a Cure-All, Dentist Says
Biological dentist Dr. Dominik Nischwitz shares his thoughts on the viral “facial fitness gum” trend and on jaw health in general
Brands like Rockjaw, Stronger Gum, Jawliner, and Gum of Gods claim that their “facial fitness gum” can enhance people’s jawlines.
How? By simply chewing on the product for anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes at a time. The alleged benefits include a more defined jawline, tightened jaw muscles and an improved overall tone of the face and neck.
Despite some initial negative responses to the products – the American Dental Association has warned that chewing dense or hard gum for extended periods of time on a regular basis can lead to symptoms like jaw pain, headaches and even risk of temporomandibular disorders – Dr. Dominik Nischwitz says the trend can work. Users just have to make sure they’re chewing correctly, and for the right amount of time.
Dr. Nischwitz, known online as Dr. Dome, is a specialist in biological dentistry, holistic odontology, and ceramic implants. Author of the bestselling book, “It’s All In Your Mouth,” Nischwitz has nearly 160,000 followers on Instagram. He is a co-founder of DNA Health & Aesthetics, a center for biological dentistry and ceramic implants located in Tübingen, Germany.
On his social media, Nischwitz posts daily tips for health optimization, touching on topics like chemical mouthwash, oil pulling and, most recently, jawline gum.
Along with viral terms such as ‘looksmaxxing’ and ‘mewing,’ jaw-strengthening gum is another trend capturing the attention mainly of tween and teenage boys attempting to improve their physical appearance to have more “masculine” features.
Brands like Jawliner have sold millions of pouches of this highly-priced specialty gum, despite the products being marketed toward young consumers with typically tighter budgets.
According to Nischwitz, chewing hard gum like the popular mastic gum, which is made from resin that comes from a Mediterranean tree, could help to strengthen the jaw muscles for that chiseled appearance. The muscle in question is the masseter, the body’s primary chewing muscle which elevates and moves the jaw.
“Chewing gum is a good strategy. However, you have to be aware that conventional chewing gum, is usually not super healthy, oftentimes containing sugar as well as artificial sweeteners such as aspartame,” Nischwitz says. “So you have to focus on getting the right gum first.”
Rockjaw, one of the top-selling brands of jaw-strengthening gum, claims that its mastic gum products will “help you get an even jawline – giving you symmetrical results.” Customers can order 20 grams of mastic gum for $31.98 and are told to chew the product for thirty minutes to 2 hours per day, making sure to chew evenly on both sides of the mouth.
“It’s like bodybuilding,” Nischwitz explains. “Instead of training your biceps, you’re basically training your jaw muscles by chewing hard stuff. Therefore if you just chew gum, the normal gum, it will probably not work. That’s why the advertisement is for mastic gum.”
For Ideal Jaw Health, Start With the Basics
Nischwitz sees no issue with chewing hard gum in order to alter the shape of the face. However, it might not be the most effective approach.
According to Nischwitz, the issue with the viral trend isn’t the gum itself, but the overall strategy. He says if people want to enhance their jawline, it starts with their posture, which starts in infancy.
“Basically the first orthodontic treatment we have as humans is breastfeeding,” Nischwitz says. “(Breastfeeding) will grow the lower jawline forwards, which will then in the future lead to a more strong jawbone, which you need in order to get that chiseled look anyways.”
“You basically just want to have better bone health,” he notes.
In adulthood, it’s even more important to practice correct posture which overall affects oral posture.
“If you have the wrong posture, oftentimes people are not breathing through their nose anymore,” Nischwitz says. “There are a lot of people breathing through their mouths. If you mouth breath, this will completely change your whole body posture as well as your jaw posture. So when incorporating any sort of jaw-bone or jaw-muscle training, you need to also incorporate training to learn how to breathe through your nose.”
Mouth breathing can be one of the primary culprits for a weak jaw, he says.
“Our body compensates by breathing through the mouth just to get more air, but then everything changes,” says Nischwitz. “Complete body posture changes by that. So you have to also include nose breathing while training for a chiseled jawline.”
How To Chew Gum for Optimal Results
When it comes to trying out the viral fitness gum trend, Nischwitz recommends prioritizing overall posture as well as chewing products like mastic gum with intention.
“Try to chew the gum while having the mouth closed all the time,” he says. “That’s already training. Don’t chew with (an) open mouth.”
It may take some time, he says, but the desired results are possible.
“Don’t overdo it,” Nischwitz says. “Like progressive overload (a strength training principle), start with chewing for fifteen minutes once a day. Work yourself up to an hour per day.”