A study found that chewing gum for 10 minutes can remove around 100 million bacteria from the mouth, similar to the effects of flossing. Researchers had students chew gum for varying times and found that each piece of gum contained around 100 million bacteria, increasing with longer chewing time. Chewing gum was found to trap and remove oral bacteria, putting it on par with the bacterial removal of using a clean toothbrush.