There are side effects in humans, usually caused by over-ingesting xylitol. Therefore, your best bet is to just keep xylitol out of your pet’s reach. If you wait and take the dog to the vet, they will start a glucose IV. When they ingest xylitol, insulin is released, so the best – and quickest – antidote for them is table sugar. Under-nourished dogs are the most likely to experience a severe reaction to xylitol. There are many foods dogs shouldn’t eat: chocolate, raisins and grapes … and xylitol. Never assume that what is safe for you to eat is also safe for your pets. (Click here for Trisha O'Hehir's video course that further shows xylitol's use in dental hygiene.) Warning: Keep xylitol away from pets It’s digested as a fiber with no insulin released. The most common source today is from fibers in corn cobs and corn stalks. With a glycemic index of 7, it’s safe for diabetics. Xylitol's crystalline form looks and tastes like “table sugar,” but contains only 2.4 calories per gram, providing 40 percent fewer calories than other carbohydrates. The human body makes 5-10 grams of xylitol each day in the metabolism of carbohydrates. Xylitol is a natural sugar it is not an artificial sweetener. This is not yet the case in North America. In some countries, it’s hard to find a chewing gum sweetened with sucrose today as the xylitol sweetened gums are so popular. Using gum sweetened only with xylitol proved to be as beneficial as complete sugar replacement.įollowing these early studies came hundreds of studies measuring the benefit of 100-percent xylitol-sweetened chewing gum to prevent tooth decay. Instead, researchers delivered xylitol following meals and snacks in chewing gum. After a two-year study, it was clear that replacing all sugar in the diet may be a difficult concept to sell to a population addicted to sugar. At first, xylitol was used to replace all sugar in the diet, which resulted in a significant reduction in caries. A 50-percent reduction in plaque levels is better than most people can achieve with a toothbrush! This was very exciting news among the research community.Īs these findings spread through the dental research community, many studies were undertaken. In the 1970s, the first dental research demonstrated a 50 percent reduction in plaque levels by eating foods sweetened with xylitol. Xylitol was first reported in the 1960s to be beneficial for diabetics. While we focused solely on fluoride, the rest of the world was seeking alternatives. was totally focused on fluoride with water fluoridation, foams, gels, 5,000 ppm pastes and eventually fluoride varnishes. From the 1970s, there were two approaches to prevention: fluoride and non-fluoride. There are 915 research articles published about xylitol, but here in the U.S., we are just now beginning to include it in our preventive strategies. This is where xylitol becomes the game changer.įive exposures to xylitol each day will reduce plaque as effectively as toothbrushing! Xylitol is a good sugar that can significantly enhance the offerings of your dental hygiene department to prevent caries and improve oral health. Traditional prevention just isn’t working. You may have a few kids in your practice who are caries free, but by adulthood, nearly 100 percent have experienced dental disease. Traditional prevention includes brushing, flossing and fluoride toothpaste, but if we look closely, it isn’t working very well. It’s easy to lose that focus and instead spend more time scaling and root planing. Xylitol will change our approach to prevention and our success.ĭespite all the time we spend removing calculus and treating gingivitis and periodontitis, our primary focus from the start has been prevention. The O'Hehir curettes should be counted as well, of course.īut to me, xylitol is a bigger game changer than all the other improvements. Power scalers, air polishers, loupes and lights. Many things over the years have improved the way dental hygiene care is provided.
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