Decay Preventing Gum

Xylitol is a naturally-occuring substance that tastes like sugar and has no after-taste.  Some sugar-pretenders, like Aspartame (Equal) are decay-neutral.  They don’t cause decay but they don’t prevent it either. 

Scandinavian research has shown for many years that Xylitol actually reduces theincidence of tooth decay.  Study participants chewed one or two sticks of gum containing xylitol for five minutes three times a day after meals.  Average decay reduction was 62%!

Up To Top

The Magic of Xylitol 

 Xylitol is a magic bullet for dental health. Xylitol works on the bacteria that cause dental decay, mainly Mutans streptococci (MS).  Acid environment is an ideal atmosphere for the germs that cause decay. The acid dissolves the calcium/phosphorous matrix that makes up enamel, breaking the molecular bond between them. If there's fluoride floating by, the calcium and phosphorus bind together with a molecule of fluoride and form another unit, stronger than the other. It's more difficult to break this match made in chemistry. If there's no fluoride nearby, the essential elements of enamel float free, leaving a microscopic void in the tooth. As more bonds break free, the void becomes bigger, the bacteria take up residence and soon the mechanical actions of mastication and mindless tooth brushing cannot remove the biofilm growing there. 

Xylitol decreases the infection from the onset — shifting the ecology of the mouth to one that favors bacteria that don't cause decay. A good amount of xylitol provides a healthy environment for an ecosystem that is less harmful to the dentition. Imagine a food that MS loves. Imagine that when they dine on this marvelous food, they cannot metabolize it to an acid. The food doesn't metabolize at all; it is excreted whole, skipping the part where the bacteria become nourished by it. More importantly, skipping the part where the pH drops. Without the acidic excrement to wallow in, the bacteria's habitat becomes intolerable and they don't proliferate.  Bacteria less harmful to the enamel start to proliferate. 

The time to start ingesting xylitol for maximum benefit is during the year directly before eruption of the tooth, for instance age five. The principal beneficiaries of xylitol are children whose parents or caregivers have a decay problem. Since the bacteria most associated with early stages of decay are transmitted from caregiver to child (most often from the mother), decreasing the bacterial count in the caregiver can be advantageous for the child. For children to benefit substantially from xylitol, the primary caregiver should chew xylitol gum before the baby's teeth erupt for approximately 18 months. 

In gum, look for xylitol as one of the first three ingredients to be an effective amount. Throughout the day, four servings is the minimum requirement to achieve dental benefits and avoid GI upset that can occur at higher dosages. Four to 12 grams a day. Used in  quantity, diarrhea may be an adverse side effect of xylitol use.

Up To Top

Some Sugar-Free Gums Can Help Stop Cavities

NEW YORK, Jul 24 (Reuters Health) - Chewing gum sweetened with xylitol can help keep cavities away, US researchers report.

Investigators at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry found that chewing gum containing xylitol, an extract from the bark of birch trees, for at least 5 minutes after meals can suppress the growth of harmful bacteria that cause cavities. The finding, published in the July 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association, offers new treatment possibilities for people with recurring cavities.

The chief cause of cavities is the bacterium Streptococcus mutans, said lead researcher Dr. Gary Hildebrandt. "It's at least responsible for initiating the cavities. Other organisms take over once it gets started," he told Reuters Health.

For people who have problems fending off cavities despite cutting down on sweets and using fluoride products, attacking the bacteria that start the cavity could help, Hildebrandt said. Antimicrobial rinses kill the bugs, but their numbers can bounce back within hours.

"We wondered if once we suppressed those organisms...we could keep them down," Hildebrandt said. "The xylitol gum has been around for a while, and I had the idea that maybe this would be a good method to keep these organisms suppressed."

Hildebrandt had 151 people with elevated levels of the bacteria rinse twice a day for 2 weeks with an antimicrobial mouthwash, called chlorhexidine. The test subjects were then divided into three groups of about 50 each. One group chewed the xylitol gum for at least 5 minutes after meals; the second chewed a regular sugar-free gum (usually sweetened with sorbitol), and the last group did nothing.

After 3 months, "we found that the xylitol group was the only group that the organisms stayed suppressed; the numbers stayed low compared to where they started (after the mouthwash)," Hildebrandt said.

To be effective, the gum has to have xylitol as its sole sweetener, Hildebrandt said. Many brands of gum may contain xylitol in addition to other sweeteners. "The only gums that have 100% xylitol are something you have to mail order," he said, and usually that means ordering in bulk.

Hildebrandt hopes that this type of product will become generally available in the future. "Maybe if enough people are asking about it, gum companies will get the hint."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dental Association 2000;131;909-916.

Xylitol is a sweet-tasting substance found in small quantities in some berries. Scandinavian research has found that xylitol can reduce tooth decay, but it’s tough to find products containing xylitol in the U.S. You need to chew one or two sticks of the gum for five minutes three times a day after meals. Studies show that this program can reduce tooth decay up to 62%! If you’re interested, please contact us soon, since I’m not sure how long our supply will last. We have cinnamon, fresh mint, and bubble gum flavors in stock at 75 cents per pack of 8 sticks, or a box of 18 packs for $10,1pc of Gum = roughly 2 Breath  Mints.
1pc of Gum = roughly 1 gram Xylitol

1 stick of gum has 0.67 gms of Xylitol. Chewing 10 stick will provide 6.7 gms. This is the recommended dose, The optimum time to initiate habitual Xylitol gum chewing for obtaining long-term caries prevention (Hujoel, PP, Makinen, KK, Bennett CA et. al. J.Dent Res 78" 797-803 1999.)

Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution

Up To Top

For more visit: National Oral Health Information Clearinghouse (NOHIC)

http://www.recaldent.com is the result of about twenty years research by Prof Eric Reynolds of the Univ. of Melbourne.  The active ingredients are CPP-ACP.  CPP is casein phosphate peptide (CaPO4 bonded to casein) and ACP is amorphous calcium phosphate.  It supplies very high concentrations of Ca++ and PO4-- close to the remineralsing tooth in the presence of high F-.  The resultant remineralised hydroxyapatite is of a higher quality than the normal remineralised hydroxyapatite.Used four times a day it can reverse white lesions associated with ortho bands in a few weeks. It is available as an oral cream (Tooth Mousse),  a chewing gum or as mint candy....Trident White in U.S.
 

February 06, 2008