I believe I have heard over the years that it is good to subject your teeth to actually chewing foods. Idk about going extremely hard or crunchy, as teeth are still susceptible to wear & even breakage if the food is rock-hard.

But the body is meant to be subjected to certain pressures & stimuli. That’s why astronauts lose all their foot calluses in space & it fucks with their bodies in many other ways, like bone & muscle loss. Coming back to earth…I’ve heard that teeth need to chew something, or they might become loose. Gums probably wouldn’t do well, either. This becomes more important as people slurp their smoothies, protein shakes, meal replacement shakes…I get the convenience of it all…but our bodies are machines. Finely tuned, very physical, machines. They need to be worked properly, or we malfunction.

Potential source, but it mainly deals with gumming your food & chewing without teeth or dentures. Like I’ve heard, it makes references to positive pressure & stimulating production of saliva, features of a normal & healthy mouth.

Chew real food, chew healthy food, swish with water after sweets, gently brush 2-3x/day…all good advice that makes sense.