Avid gum chewers rejoice! Your love for the sticky, stretchy stuff can be beneficial for your oral health—depending on its ingredients. If you’re chewing gum with artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol, sucralose, aspartame, or mannitol, it’s true you’re avoiding traditional sugar, but your teeth aren’t as likely to thank you as they might be if your stick of choice were 100% xylitol-sweetened.
What is Xylitol?
First, if you’re wondering how to pronounce xylitol, its prefix is just like xylophone’s, and the fact that it tastes as sweet as sugar but carries almost half the calories per gram (2.4 compared to 4) might make you want to grab a mallet and beat out a tune. But the best part is: xylitol is a powerful plaque fighter, and fighting plaque is essential for cavity and gum disease prevention.
Is Xylitol a Marvel Superhero?
It might not be featured in cool comic books, but xylitol is a game-changer for dental hygiene. Before we leave you to your research, we want to remind you that it works best in conjunction with a strong oral hygiene routine, not as a replacement for one!
If you have any questions about xylitol or anything else related to your smile’s health, feel free to contact your Seattle dentist, Dr. McKay at McKay Center for Cosmetic and General Dentistry today!
The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
