Caries and Xylitol

With the new year, comes new and exciting dental news!

A new study just released suggests that adult dental caries, or those that are at high risk of getting cavities, could possibly be prevented by using xylitol.  Xylitol is a sugar substitute that is now found in some chewing gums that helps to reduce bacteria levels in the plaque and saliva.  It was seen that the amount of bacteria that can cause cavities was reduced.  While these results are promising, they were not statistically significant, meaning more research is still needed into this new and upcoming dental health care product.