As refined sugars are one of the bigger enemies to your dental health, many people are interested in finding alternative sweeteners that can give candy the taste we love without harming our teeth as much. This is the purpose behind a substance known as xylitol, which has shown some potential toward this end. Researchers have observed that this substance causes less damage to your teeth than conventional sugar, and some are even going as far as to claim that xylitol can actually kill off the harmful bacteria in your mouth. But is this claim too good to be true?
A team of researchers explored this question with a series of ten studies involving about six thousand participants. Some were instructed to use a xylitol-based toothpaste, while a control group used normal fluoride paste. The team found “low-quality evidence” that the xylitol toothpaste resulted in 13% less tooth decay. This is considered insufficient to draw any conclusions. Meanwhile, the studies did not explore the potential side effects of the substance.
You can learn more about healthy dental care from our Federal Way dentistry clinic.
