Science Supports Xylitol's Tooth-Health Benefits
Lee Swanson Research Update
Formulating products with xylitol as a sweetener may reduce the development of tooth decay. That’s what a new study from the United States reports.
Children consuming eight grams of xylitol per day had 1.3 fewer decayed teeth, compared to children consuming only 2.7 grams per day.
"This study is the first (to our knowledge) to demonstrate that xylitol topical oral syrup (8 g/d) divided into two or three doses given during primary tooth eruption in children aged 15 to 25 months reduces tooth decay," wrote the researchers, led by Peter Milgrom. "Furthermore, up to 70% of decayed teeth could be prevented by xylitol […] in this setting."
The study was welcomed by Burton Edelstein from Columbia University. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Edelstein said that results were "encouraging" that xylitol "holds strong promise to significantly dampen early childhood caries occurrence."
Tooth decay can start as early as age 22 months in some children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 28% of all American toddlers and pre-schoolers are affected by tooth decay.
Milgrom and his co-workers recruited 94 children between the ages of 9 and 15 months in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: Two groups received eight grams of xylitol per day as two or three doses, while the third group received a single 2.67 gram dose of xylitol per day.
After an average of 10.5 months of study, the researchers observed that 24.2% and 40.6% of the groups receiving two or three doses of xylitol per day had tooth decay, while 51.7% of the control group experienced tooth decay.
The average numbers of decayed teeth were 0.6 and 1.0 in the two-and three-dose xylitol groups, and 1.9 in the control group.
"Our results suggest that exposure to xylitol (8 grams per day) in a twice-daily topical oral syrup during primary tooth eruption could prevent up to 70% of decayed teeth," wrote the authors.
The researchers noted that more research is required in order to optimize the delivery vehicles and strategies for public health.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 163(7):601-607, 2009