Dental Health and xylitol

Xylitol is a natural, low-calorie sugar substitute that has been approved and used during the very last few decades. Chemically, xylitol, is a pentitol (five carbon polyol) or perhaps as they are

alternatively called a very high sugar alcohol. It’s produced mainly from birch as well as beech wood and

this is the primary reason that xylitol is alternatively called birch or wood sugars. Xylitol has the

exact same organoleptic qualities as sugar, meaning that it looks as well as tastes as sugar, however it’s a selection of advantages over sugar. One of the main advantages is that it inhibits the

creation of dental caries.

The very first proof of xylitol’s beneficial effects in protecting against tooth caries came from an investigation conducted in Finland which was posted throughout the seventies. After the publication

of that study, several clinical trials have been performed to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of xylitol in tooth hygiene. Today, we’ve evidence that is enough to say with

trust that the use of xylitol, and specifically the substitution of sugars with xylitol has beneficial effects for dental health.

The mechanisms through which, xylitol exerts these essential effects are both direct and indirect. For starters xylitol isn’t fermentable by the bacteria that inhabit the oral

cavity, in contrast with sugar. That means that by substituting sugar with xylitol the

bacteria that are liable for the creation of dental caries are deprived from one of their primary sources of power.

Moreover, one of the primary reasons that the consumption of sugars and

carbohydrates cause dental problems is that they reduce the pH of the mouth causing enamel demineralization. The consumption of xylitol on the other hand has the exact opposite

impact, it raises the pH of the mouth area, protecting teeth enamel from demineralization. It

must in addition be noted, that since the pH of the plaque is simply not reduced by the usage of items sweetened with xylitol, remineralization is encouraged.

Another fundamental attribute of xylitol is that it has bacteriostatic effects. Which means

that xylitol inhibits the growth of bacteria as mutans streptococci, that’re the principle culprits for prodentim (socialnewsdaily.com writes) the development of plaque and dental caries. This particular effect of xylitol is attributed

to the basic fact that when these bacteria fill up xylitol it is transformed into xylitol-5-phosphate

which results to the formation of the destruction and intracellular vacuoles of the cell membranes of theirs.

Finally, a few recent studies have demonstrated the regular use of xylitol products and also be more precise habitual chewing of xylitol gum by the mother can have a preventive impact for their children dental health. This is attributed to the basic fact that xylitol use by the mother is able to reduce the mother to kid transmission of bacteria which are responsible for tooth problems.

All the above make xylitol an extremely appealing sugar substitute. Particularly since it’s natural

and it doesn’t have any known side effects. The most popular method of consuming xylitol is by

chewing xylitol sweetened gum. However, any xylitol sweetened item will have almost the exact same helpful effects.