March 2, 2009
By Jessica Forbes MS, CCNTwo weeks ago my husband and I went to the dentist (one of our favorite friends, actually!) for x-rays and an exam which revealed that my husband had 4 little spots of decay on his teeth that were not quite cavities, but were soft spots that would require drilling and filling to keep them from becoming cavities. The dentist scheduled this to be taken care of two weeks later when he would have more time.
In the meantime, I figured since we had two weeks anyway why not perform a little experiment? Since xylitol is supposed to kill the bacteria that causes cavities I made a solution of 1 heaping Tbsp. xylitol mixed into 8 ounces water and put it in a little mason jar with “Xylitol Rinse for Teeth” written on the lid. I kept this jar by the bathroom sink for my husband to swish with every night before he went to bed.
After 2 weeks using the xylitol mouthwash my husband went back to the dentist today and guess what? The dentist couldn’t find even one of the spots of decay that showed up on an x-ray 2 weeks ago! Pretty amazing! I think I just found my new favorite method of cavity prevention. It tastes sweet and won’t hurt you if swallowed so it would work well for children and it has the added benefit of making your spouse taste like sugar when they kiss you goodnight. If you really wanted to be fancy you could add a squirt of Marilyn Farms Tooth & Gum tincture to give your gums extra support, but as you can see the xylitol works pretty well on its own!
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WOO WOO!!!
This is awesome. I am going home this afternoon to try this!
Any thoughts on Trident’s chewing gum with xylitol? Would it help your teeth too? I don’t know what it’s other ingredients are or if they would counterbalance the good of the xylitol?
Thanks for this Jessica!
Saralyn
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Jessica Forbes Reply:
March 4th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I think it’s great that Trident using xylitol in their chewing gum. The ideal fum would be one that uses only xylitol as their sweetener. Unfortunately, most gums you would find at the grocery store that contain xylitol also contain numerous other artificial sweeteners that have been linked to a plethora of issues that I won’t get into here. If you only chew gum after garlic fests or other times of emergency bad breath treatment it’s probably fine to chew whatever you want, but if you’re a habitual gum chewer I would suggest finding a gum sweetened only with xylitol, which can be found at most health food stores.
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Comment by Saralyn — March 3, 2009 @ 1:54 pm
This is awesome! Do you have any thoughts on young kids using this rinse? I know it’s hard since so much of the products they’re not supposed to swallow, but this seems like it could be a good solution for them too.
Thanks!
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Jessica Forbes Reply:
March 4th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Young kids can absolutely use this rinse. Xylitol is actually meant for cooking, so it is safe for kids to swallow the rinse accidentally. My only caution would be that they shouldn’t get into the jar and drink the whole thing accidentally – xylitol can cause diarrhea if ingested in large doses because it draws water into the colon (the same mechanism by which too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea). As a side note, xylitol is actually very beneficial for kids with a history of ear infections, so in those cases you may want to purposely put a little xylitol into the child’s food or beverage.
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Comment by Lysandra — March 3, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
Very informative!! I’m curious about the chewing gum as well. =) Thanks Jess, I love reading your blog.
Britt
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Comment by Britt — March 3, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
This got me researching a bit and I found a really great article that goes into a lot of detail on Xylitol and why this would have worked for you.
http://www.healthyfellow.com/107/xylitol-for-dental-health/
Any comments on this Jessica?
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Jessica Forbes Reply:
March 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am
This is a great article, thanks Jeremy! It definitely explains what’s going on and why the experiment worked. I liked their suggestion to add a little bit of calcium lactate and sea salt to the mix. I found some calcium tablets to crush and have Celtic salt to add to the xylitol solution I’ve already got going.
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Comment by Jeremy — March 6, 2009 @ 6:53 pm
Hi,
Xylitol, a nutraceutical (food substance with medical benefits) is an excellent sugar substitute. Its dental benefits are truly amazing, and by understanding how it works we can get the maximum benefits from it. Firstly small amounts (approx. 10g/per day), and consumed over as long a period as possible is what we are ideally aiming for. This is why chewing gum is the ideal vehicle for applying the xylitol in the mouth, where we need it. Further more it stimulates the enzyme rich saliva which is ‘nature’s cavity fighter’. The xylitol cannot be metabolized by the bacteria and therefor no harmful acids are produced, but what is truly amazing is that over time this causes the sugar loving bacteria to die out and be replaced with more friendly bacteria. For the full rundown visit http://www.teethforlife.co.za/news/51%20Xylitol.htm.
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Jessica Forbes Reply:
March 10th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Great info, thanks Brian!
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Comment by Brian — March 9, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
I am intrigued by the Xylitol mouthwash….not clear on whether or not it is beneficial for gum health. Is it too expensive for a fixed-income senior, and where can I find it? Thanks, and blessin’s to ya’, Kathleen
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Comment by Kathleen — March 24, 2009 @ 7:49 pm
[...] For more info, check out this blog post by my good friend and nutritionist Jessica Forbes: http://www.marilynfarms.com/blog/xylitol-for-dental-cavities.html . [...]
Pingback by Product Spotlight: Xylitol Can Reduce Cavities and Increase Overall Oral Health « Wholemom’s Blog - I do the research, so you don’thave to! Healthiest options for your family! — March 25, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
This is interesting info…thanks! Do you think the zylitol mouthwash experiment would work on an actual cavity? I have an appointment to get a small cavity filled on 4/2/09. What do you think? Thanks!
Heidi
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Comment by Heidi — March 26, 2009 @ 7:41 pm
[...] For more info, check out this blog post by my good friend and nutritionist Jessica Forbes: http://www.marilynfarms.com/blog/xylitol-for-dental-cavities.html . [...]
Pingback by Whole Mom » Product Spotlight: Xylitol Can Reduce Cavaties and Increase Overall Oral Health — March 28, 2009 @ 9:30 am