Xylitol Gum Helps Prevent Decay…
…but it will cost you at least $12-20/month to get enough xylitol to make a difference. Dentists have known about the benefits of xylitol for years. But the cost to benefit ratio has not made sense for most people (about a year ago, it cost around $30/month). Plus, chewing gum 4-6 times every day could be a problem for people with TMJ issues.
In order to prevent decay, studies suggest you need to chew 1-2 grams, 4-6 times a day. I don’t believe there are any over-the-counter gums you can buy in stores which have high enough xylitol levels. I called Trident, and they said the amount of xylitol in their Trident and Stride gums is proprietary and they would not disclose the amount. Online sources say Trident gum has 0.17 gm per stick. That’s 6 sticks at a time to get enough xylitol!
Still, if you’re having ongoing decay issues depite reducing sugar between meals, xylitol gum could be very helpful, provided you’re willing to chew that often. For further information on preventing tooth decay with xylitol gum, here’s a couple websites for you. Xylitol.org does a good job of explaining what xylitol is and how to use it. Xylitolpreventscavities.com lists some gums you can get online with enough xylitol to be effective.
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Dr. Steve
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Christine
September 11th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Great site with the info on xylitol! I didn’t realize that the percentage in strength was that important, or that it varied so much between brands that contain xylitol as an ingredient. Seems as though it would be worthwhile to give a try with chronic dry mouth and or a high decay rate. I appreciated the xylitol website links and what they have to offer.
Though, please try to stop the obnoxious Oral B pop-ups! I couldn’t finish a sentence without a pop-up blocking it. (and, my computers pop-up blocker is ON). I am an RDH and know that Oral B is a decent brand. Even so, stuff like that sticks with you when making a decision between brands when it comes time to make a purchase. Just because your in my face does’t make it more “popular.” In fact, for lots of us it has the opposite effect.
Dr. Steve
September 12th, 2011 at 8:27 am
Hi Christine
Thanks for the great feedback! Xylitol can be very helpful, but most people don’t realize how much you need to get for it to be effective.
I’m not really sure where you’re getting the pop-ups from. Our website should not have any. I can assure you we do not accept any advertising- we do the website ourselves. If you are getting pop-ups from sites that we link to, I’m afraid we don’t have any control over those sites. If it’s too annoying, I can remove the link. Please let me know.
Thanks!
Dr. Steve
Roseville Family Dentist