| Brushing, flossing, even chewing sugar free | | | | Dr. Milgrom recently checked out many popular |
| gum. We're all on a mission to stay cavity | | | | products to see what it would take to reach 6 |
| free. But now, several gums and mints have | | | | grams. |
| added a new sweetener that can pull double | | | | |
| duty for your teeth. | | | | Smint Xylicare - a mint- contains less than |
| | | | point two grams per serving, meaning you'd |
| The dentist's drill; it's something we dread. | | | | need 30 mints per day. |
| It's something Ryan Messner has never | | | | |
| experienced. What helps him stay cavity free? | | | | Epic Xylitol gum contains just over one gram |
| Everything and anything sugar-free. | | | | per piece, so you'd need to chew on six |
| | | | pieces a day. |
| "I'm addicted to gum," says Ryan Messner. | | | | |
| I've been chewing it for ten years, pretty | | | | One of the highest amounts: Carefree Koolerz |
| much a pack a day." | | | | gum. But you'd need to chew four sticks a day |
| | | | to get it. |
| Ryan says about a year ago, he noticed his | | | | |
| favorite gum had new packaging. | | | | It can be hard to tell how much Xylitol is in |
| | | | a product. Companies aren't required to put |
| "It did say: with 'Xylitol' now," according | | | | that information on the packaging and only a |
| to Messner. | | | | few do. Dr. Milgrom is calling for clearer |
| | | | labeling. |
| What exactly is Xylitol? It's a natural sugar | | | | |
| substitute that's exploding in popularity. | | | | The American Dental Association isn't willing |
| It's in gum, candy, even pancake syrup and | | | | to go that far, but they are keeping a close |
| jam. | | | | eye on Xylitol research. |
| | | | |
| According to dentist Dr. Milgrom, "The papers | | | | Dr. Milgrom says, "If a consumer looks at a |
| show pretty clearly, Xylitol prevents tooth | | | | product where Xylitol is the first sugar |
| decay." | | | | that's listed, there's a good chance that the |
| | | | product contains enough xylitol to be |
| But only if you get enough. | | | | helpful." |
| | | | |
| Dr. Peter Milgrom has conducted several | | | | Messner's favorite gum doesn't disclose how |
| studies on Xylitol. He says while there are | | | | much Xylitol is in each stick. But at a pack |
| no official dosing guidelines, "We estimate | | | | a day, which is his usual amount, he figures |
| that a person needs to get about six grams of | | | | that's close enough to chewing his way to a |
| Xylitol a day spread over maybe three | | | | healthier smile. |
| different times during the day in order to | | | | |
| get a benefit." | | | | "I'll keep using it definitely," says |
| | | | Messner. |