Column Health & Medicine

No, mastic gum won’t reshape your jaw

An ancient Greek chewing gum has a fresh life — and false promise — on social media

By Tyler Santora

A pile of various oblong-like, bone-colored pieces of mastic gum.

Mastic-based chewing gum may have some benefit to breath and microbiome, but it won’t change the way you look.

PicturePartners/iStock/Getty Images Plus

On the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea, ancient Greeks gnawed on dried sap from the mastic tree to treat stomach upset. Greek philosopher and physician Hippocrates even used the resin as an herbal remedy for gastrointestinal disorders.