A report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows that children who had a dose of xylitol syrup are less likely to develop decay in their baby teeth.
“Poor children experience rates twice as high as those of their more affluent peers, and their disease is more likely to be untreated,” the authors wrote. “Poor oral health affects diet and nutrition and significantly diminishes quality of life. However, tooth decay is a disease that is largely preventable.”Since 1963, xylitol is approved for use in food in the US and has been proven to prevent tooth decay by serving as an antibacterial agent on organisms that may cause cavities.
Peter Milgrom, D.D.S., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and his colleagues assessed the effectiveness of applying syrup with xylitol on 94 children age 9–15 months.
Two groups received 8g of xylitol daily. These groups consist of 33 children who received two doses of xylitol and 32 children who received three doses. The third group is a control group which consists of 29 children who received a single 2.67g dose.
After 10.5 months, 24.2% of those who received two doses of xylitol and 40.6% of those who received three doses had tooth decay, as compared with 51.7% of those who belong 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 percent of decayed teeth,” the authors wrote. “Dividing the 8 grams into three doses did not increase the effectiveness of the treatment. These results provide evidence for the first time (to our knowledge) that xylitol is effective for the prevention of decay in primary teeth of toddlers.”
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