Q. What is xylitol?
A. Xylitol is a sweetener that occurs naturally. It can be found in berries, fruit, vegetables and mushrooms. Xylitol also occurs naturally in human tissues.

Q. Where does it come from?
A. Birch Trees and Corncobs are the main sources for commercially produced xylitol. However, the xylitol in our Xylimax products are always produced from birch trees, the original source of the Xylitol products produced in Finland.

Q. How does xylitol differ from other sweeteners?
A. Chemically speaking, xylitol is not actually a sugar, but a sugar alcohol. It differs from other sweeteners such as sorbitol, fructose and glucose because the xylitol molecule has five, instead of six, carbon atoms. Most bacteria are unable to make use of such sugars. This is one reason why xylitol is so effective in preventing cavities.

Q. What is the calorie content compared to sugar?
A. Xylitol has 40% fewer calories than "regular" sugar, app. 2.4kcal/gram.

Q. What is the carbohydrate content compared to sugar?
A. Xylitol contains 75% fewer carbohydrates compared to "regular" sugar.

Q. What does xylitol taste and look like?
A. Xylitol tastes and looks just like sugar. If you were to put a small amount on your tongue by itself, you would notice a very pleasant cooling, minty aftertaste as the only difference from sugar. This pleasant aftertaste is one of the many reasons why food manufacturers overseas love to use xylitol in their products.

Q. Can you use it to cook?
A. Yes, xylitol is interchangeable with sugar for most cooking applications. Since yeast cannot metabolize it, xylitol will not work when baking breads or anything that contains yeast. Furthermore, xylitol does not crystallize as much as table sugar; therefore it does not do well when making peanut brittle or other hard candy.

Although xylitol is the same sweetness of sugar, we recommend that you try a little less xylitol to what you would use of sugar and then adjust from there. Some people use a little less and some like a bit more sweetness - it is frequently an individual taste.

Q. What about in tea and coffee?
A. This is an individual's taste preference.  Many people will use only half the amount of xylitol to what they would normally use of sugar.

Q. What Causes Tooth Decay?
A. Dental caries (tooth decay) is a multifactorial disease process. Enamel, the mostly inorganic, hard outer tooth layer, is dissolved (demineralized) by acids produced from sugars by plaque bacteria. Bacteria can more rapidly invade and eat away the inner dentin layer because it is softer and contains more organic material. The tooth surface is in a dynamic state of flux between demineralization (destruction) and remineralization (repair). Acid conditions (lower pH) favor the loss of calcium and phosphate from the tooth while neutral or alkaline (higher pH) conditions help to replace minerals.

Individuals susceptible to tooth decay tend to have less buffering capacity against plaque acid. Their saliva pH tends to drop lower and recover more slowly. Demineralization predominates at lower pH, beginning at around 5.7. Thicker plaque helps to hold acid against teeth and leads to surface destruction that begins in localized, sheltered areas.

Tooth decay occurs at the intersection of the necessary elements: bacterial plaque acids dissolving a susceptible tooth over time. Xylitol interferes with all of the destructive elements and helps to tilt the balance in favor of dental protective factors.

Q. Can Xylitol Help Prevent Tooth Decay?
A. Yes, xylitol is non-acidogenic and non-cariogenic. Xylitol is essentially non-fermentable and therefore cannot be converted to acids by oral bacteria (primarily strep mutans, the main bacteria responsible for tooth decay). Xylitol can even be left on the teeth overnight and not cause any damage. With proper use, xylitol can stop the formation of tooth decay (cariostatic).

When you take xylitol, the acid attack that would otherwise last for over half an hour, is stopped. Because the bacteria in the mouth causing caries are unable to ferment xylitol in their metabolism, their growth is reduced. The number of acid-producing lactobacilli and streptococci may fall as much as 90%. No acid is formed because the pH of saliva and plaque does not fall. After taking xylitol, the bacteria do not absorb well on the surface of the teeth and the amount of plaque decreases.

Research has shown that the use of xylitol also helps correct incipient damage to the enamel. Saliva in itself protects the mouth and teeth. Stimulated saliva in particular contains all the components needed to correct incipient caries. If sugar is only taken a couple of times a day, the saliva can do the job alone. But most people take sugar so often that the mouth's own defensive mechanisms are not enough.

Saliva containing xylitol is more alkaline than saliva stimulated by other sugar products. After taking xylitol products, the concentration of basic amino acids and ammonia in saliva and plaque may rise, and plaque pH rises as well. When pH is above 7, calcium and phosphate salts in saliva start to precipitate into those parts of enamel where they are lacking. Thus, soft, calcium-deficient enamel sites begin to harden again.

Q. Can Xylitol Reverse Tooth Decay?
A. Yes, to some degree. Xylitol is not merely an inert bystander but can exert an active counter force to decay (anticariogenic). This depends upon how the xylitol is used. The delivery method, the amount, the timing, and the frequency are important. (Kept in the mouth for at least 5 minutes after meals and snacks, 4-5 times daily) Xylitol can enhance the remineralization or healing process. This remineralization happens best in small decay spots just beginning in the enamel. Larger holes won’t go away and will still require a filling or restoration, but they can harden and become less sensitive.

Q. Is xylitol safe?
A. Yes it is. The safety of xylitol has been proven in long-term clinical studies and has been confirmed by all the major regulatory bodies worldwide. Xylitol is approved for use in food and especially in oral hygiene products, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Currently xylitol is approved in more than 60 countries.

Xylitol has been evaluated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), Joint Expert Committee of Food Additives (JEFCA) and the EU Scientific Committee for Food (SCF). JEFCA allocated an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for xylitol of "Not Specified", which represents the safest category into which JEFCA can allocate a food additive.

Xylitol has been approved for food within the European Union (EU) since 1994. The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has approved xylitol for use in "foods for special dietary purposes". The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has approved the use of xylitol for food application since 1997.

Q. Is xylitol safe for children?
A. Yes it is. Studies have shown that xylitol consumption is especially important for emerging teeth. Xylitol products can be given to children from two years of age and upward. Xylitol was recommended for the use of children by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in 2006.

Q. How is xylitol metabolized?
A. Xylitol is easily metabolized by the body. A small portion is slowly absorbed through the small intestine and carried in the portal blood supply to the liver, where it is converted to glucose. Because of the slowness of absorption, the majority of xylitol (approximately ¾ of that consumed) moves down to the lower intestine. There it is metabolized by friendly bacteria to short-chain fatty acids, which are mostly returned to the liver for oxidation, providing energy.

Q. Can diabetics and hypoglycemics safely use it?
A. Xylitol is safe for people with diabetes and hypoglycemia because it gets into the cells without insulin and can be used to make glucose; therefore, it has a minimal insulin response. The glycemic index of xylitol is app. 8.5. If you have questions or concerns, consult your doctor.

Q. What about using xylitol in a low carbohydrate diet?
A. As only about one quarter of consumed xylitol becomes glucose, it is stated to have 75% less carbohydrates than table sugar. Therefore it is suitable for use in a low carbohydrate diet.

 Q. How much xylitol should one eat per day?
A. The anti-cariogenic effect of xylitol stems partly from the affected bacteria population in the mouth and partly from the properties of saliva. Xylitol is a natural and convenient way of supplementing daily dental care. Research shows that for maximum benefit, doses of at least 5 grams per day should be taken. In practice, this means 5-7 pieces of chewing gum or mints a day. The pieces should be chewed immediately after a meal or a snack. If you eat more snacks, you of course need more frequent help from xylitol.

Q. Is it dangerous to swallow the chewing gum?
A. No it is not, but xylitol chewing gum is not meant to be swallowed. In case it is swallowed, it will be transported naturally among other food through intestines.

Q. How Often Should I use it?
A. Consistency is important, use daily. If used only occasionally or even as often as once a day, xylitol may NOT be effective, regardless of the amount.

Frequency is the key. Use xylitol at least three, and preferably 5 times every day. The anticariogenic effect of xylitol stems partly from the affected bacteria population in the mouth and partly from the properties of saliva. Xylitol is a natural and convenient way of supplementing daily dental care.

The pieces should be chewed immediately after a meal or a snack. If you eat more snacks, you of course need more frequent help from xylitol. Between meals and snacks, replace ordinary chewing gum or breath mints with comparable xylitol products.

Q. Should You Avoid Sugar And Only Use Xylitol?
A. Dentists recognize the futility of advice to avoid sugars. It is behaviorally unrealistic and besides, any fermentable carbohydrate can contribute to tooth decay. Even people who claim they eat "no sugar" may expose their teeth to significant sources from honey, malt syrup, rice syrup, fruits and even medications. Given enough time, salivary enzymes can break down starch into simple sugars.

Replacing all dietary sugars, or even just the "accessible" sugars in the diet with xylitol is expensive and impractical. Thankfully it is also unnecessary. Just a little bit of xylitol in chewing gum or mints (or in a form that can be kept in contact with the teeth for awhile), is all that is needed to blunt the "acid attack" after eating.

Consistently using small amounts of xylitol tends to increase protective factors in saliva and help maintain pH in the safe range above 5.7. Oral pH becomes less acidic with continued xylitol use. There is more saliva with greater buffering capacity so demineralizing conditions seldom occur.

Because saliva productions decreases during sleep, xylitol should be used after late-night snacks or medications (syrups and chewable tablets often contain sugar).

Q. How does xylitol take care of a mouth dryness problem?
A. In terms of dental health, it is good to increase the salivary flow rate as often as possible, i.e. to secrete what is called stimulated saliva. The faster the saliva flow, the greater its buffer capacity, that is, its power of resisting the drops in saliva pH and thus in plaque pH.

In stimulating saliva secretion xylitol increases the amount of saliva in the mouth. At the same time it increases saliva's initiating chemical capacity for reducing the harmful effects of bacteria.

Sucrose also stimulates saliva secretion, but even this increased salivary flow rate cannot compensate for the effect of the acids simultaneously produced by the cariogenic bacteria. So plaque pH falls and cavities start forming.

Chewing also helps promote saliva secretion. That's why chewing gum is an almost perfect way of taking xylitol from the dentist's point of view.

Q. How should I store xylitol?
A. Xylitol is hygroscopic (attracts moisture) and should therefore be sealed after use. Store Xylitol at room temperature.